Lovechild Trilogy
by GAKDragonMCP
Summary: Romance blooms at the Yavin academy, but it ends in tragedy and two young children are left orphans.
1. Part 1, Doomed Love

     You're about to read 'Doomed Love,' the first part of a fanfic series, "A Jedi's Lovechild."  Romance blooms at the Yavin academy, but it ends in tragedy and two young children are left orphans.  

     This series is purely fanfic, but is still loosely based on past events from my now-defunct novel, "New Allies."  All of my little fanfic series are.  That's why they're all grouped together as "The Kadarinadh Chronicles."  All of the stories in these chronicles relate to a single character creation of mine, Grand Admiral Kadarinadh Daragon.  She doesn't come into play until much later in this series so I won't spoil it any more for you. 

     Disclaimer (i.e., you can stop reading this now and read my story):  

     All of these characters were created by other authors.  None of them (yet) are mine, although I have severely changed their current histories and personalities.  George Lucas owns everything Star Wars; I am getting nothing in return for writing this except personal satisfaction; feel free to distribute this as you wish as long as my name stays on it somewhere.  

     This story begins one year after Crystal Star.  It spoils that and almost anything else chronologically before it.  It ignores everything after.  

     Without further ado, I present to you:

Doomed Love

Day 4 (Yes, yes, just keep reading.  You'll get it soon enough.)

In space above Yavin VIII

     "Come on, Luke," she taunted.  "Can't you turn off that damned Jedi control and throw away your celibacy for once?"  

     "I am not celibate!" he corrected.  The woman in front of him smiled and placed her hands on the waist of her lacy, black lingerie.  That action pulled the bodice of the outfit down slightly, giving him a better view of her ample breasts.  

     He was instantly aroused, but instead of clamping down on his passion, he let it run free.  Maybe, just this once, nothing would go wrong if he gave in to his desires.  

     As if in conjunction with his thoughts, he heard a tiny voice in his head.  "Go for it, you farmboy!  Act like a flesh and blood man for once in your life!"  

     He gave in to his passion and obeyed the orders of the voice.  

     He pulled the woman closer to him and kissed her fiercely.  Astonished, she made no move until his tongue teased her lips.  Then she opened her mouth willingly and teased him back.  She wound her arms around his neck and kissed him full-force.  His tongue stroked hers, tasting her apple sweetness.  

     "Luke," she moaned when he let her up for air.  

     "Darling," he breathed.  He kissed her again.  As their tongues danced an intricate tango, their roving hands stripped each other's clothes away.  His boots were the first to go as he led her to her quarters.  A few steps from the door he tore away her hair clasp.  Her silky tresses fell down her back in long waves.  

     He backed her up to the bed, and she scrambled onto it, kissing him ardently.  He assisted her in removing his shirt, then paused to take off the remainder of his clothes.  Naked, he climbed onto the bed with her.  His hands found a zipper that aided in the removal of her negligee.  He kissed her neck.  

     His lips trailed down her torso, following the path of his hands as he slid the straps off her shoulders and pulled the negligee off of her.  He laid next to her and spread her legs apart, slightly.  His left hand caressed the inside of her left leg from calf to thigh and back down to the knee.  She gasped and shivered at his touch.  He propped himself up on his right elbow and watched her face as his hand slid along her inner thigh, moving closer and closer to that paradise below her hips.  

     The closer he got to her womanhood, the louder she moaned.  Finally, he put his hand right up next to her clitoris.  Positioning his fingers on either side, he slowly and deliberately stroked downward.  His actions had the desired effect.  She moaned and arched her back, trying to get more of his hand inside of her.  He continued stroking her slowly, as she writhed and wriggled beneath him.  

     Her moans grew louder and louder and her hands grasped the sheets tightly.  She alternately clamped her legs shut around his hand or quickened the sensations by bucking her hips faster and faster to meet her demands for satisfaction.  Sometimes she did both.  

     After one such incident, her back was high off the bed.  He brought his free hand beneath her and kept her up in the air, stroking her clitoris, now wet with her passion, constantly.  His right hand moved from under the small of her back down to her shapely buttocks, and he caressed her bottom.  Thus supporting her, he lowered his head and gently kissed the breast closest to him.  She cried out in ecstasy.  

     He took in a mouthful of copious flesh.  One of her hands dug into his thinning hair, pinning his head down.  To release the pressure of her hand, he nibbled, licked, poked, and prodded her nipple.  She screamed with pleasure, "Oh gods!  Yes!  Please, please!  Oh yes, yes, oh, yes!"  

     He smiled and moved to her other breast, intending to repeat the procedure on it.  She caught his face in her hands, and lifted it to look into his light blue eyes.  He stared at eyes that were the greenest he'd ever seen them.  She kissed him deeply, longingly.  

     He abandoned his stroking and laid on top of her.  Her bucking hips sought out his manhood.  Erect, straight and hard, it was easy to find.  She spread her legs wide and drove her hips upward, spearing herself on his manhood.  The strokes of his tongue matched the deep, powerful thrusts of his hips.  He thrust faster and harder, no longer wanting to tease her.  

     Her fingernails dug into his back and she clung to him.  Waves of pain and incredible passion were rolling over her as he made love to her, leaving her senseless and dazed.  They thrust together wildly, letting their passion lead them to a height of ecstasy.  With one final thrust and crying out, "Mara," he buried himself full to the hilt inside of her.  

     Remaining within her paradise, he propped himself up and locked his elbows.  He stared deep into her green eyes.  She stared back, and both seemed to ask themselves, 'How the hell did we get this far?'

**********

Day 1 (See what I mean?)[TP1] 

Yavin IV

     As the *Falcon* landed in the meadow in front of the Great Temple, Luke waited eagerly by the ramp.  From the cockpit, he'd seen a new ship, bigger than the *Falcon,* standing on the makeshift landing pad.  He was always excited to have new students.  

     The *Falcon* touched down and Luke lowered the ramp.  He, Han, Leia, and Chewie had just gotten back from a diplomatic trip.  A little less than a year ago, Leia's children had been kidnapped.  Over the ensuing two months, she had searched for them with the help of a Firrereo humanoid, Rillao.  She, Luke, Han, Chewie, and Rillao had spent the next eight months returning other kidnapped children to their families.  The last month was spent on Coruscant, trying to heal the barrier between Rillao and her son, Tigris.  The foursome had left for the Yavin moon when satisfied that the Firrere would be fine.  Luke stepped off Han's beloved freighter and wandered over to the new ship.  He stared admiringly at the sleek curves and graceful lines.  He circled around the back, and stopped at the entrance ramp and read the name of the beautiful freighter before him.  The *_Jade's Fire._*  

     "She's a beauty, isn't she," her owner said from behind him.  He turned as Mara came and stood next to him.  

     "Yes, she is," he replied.  "What brings you to Yavin, Mara?"  

     "A surprise for you.  It's inside."  She lowered the ramp and led him on a tour of her new ship.  They paused at the living quarters and she took out a small green cube.  "This is one half of your surprise.  It's a Holocron of a woman named Jori Daragon."    She gave him the cube.  He thanked her and tucked it away.  "The other half," she resumed, "is in there."  She pointed to a door offset from the main hallway.  She continued back towards the captain's quarters.  He opened the door and found himself in a guest suite.  It was decorated in soft shades of red and orange.    Its occupant said, "Hello, Luke."  

     "Callie?"  

     "Come, sit down," she begged, motioning to a chair nearby.    "We have to talk."  

     He kept silent, not trusting his voice.  Something in the way she spoke and in her face betrayed a sadness in her spirit.  They sat and she began.  "Luke, I've come here to let you go.  I've done a lot of thinking in the past two years, and I've realized that I've changed.  I want different things now, things that you just can't give me.  That's why I came in person to tell you I won't be coming back to you.  I couldn't let you know any other way.  I'm sorry, Luke."  

     "No it's for the best," he found himself saying.  "You need to find someone, settle down.  Me, I have to keep saving the galaxy.  I'm glad you told me."  He smiled to let her know he was all right with the situation, even if, in truth, he wasn't.  

     "Do you mind," she asked, "if I find some quarters in the Temple?"  

     "No, go ahead."  Something flickered at the edge of his conscious.  "I'll be there shortly to help.  I think Mara - excuse me, Captain Jade - wants me to help unload her cargo bay.  I just hope she's brought us new medical supplies."  

     Callie laughed, picked up an overnight bag, and left.  Luke wandered to the bridge, where Mara was shutting down the lights.    "Oh good, you heard me," she said without turning.  "I thought for sure you were going to kill her or something."  

     "Or something," he muttered.  "You knew?"  

     "She told me on the way here," Mara replied.  She flipped a switch on the arm of the captain's chair.  The lights winked out save for two near the doorway and one directly above the chair.  She stood by the chair for a few moments before coming to join him.  Slowly, tentatively, she put a hand on his shoulder.  

     He turned and accepted her offered embrace.  He put his head on her shoulder.  Though slightly smaller than he, their shoulders were at about the same height.  He cried to release the grief of losing Callie's powers, to signify the end of one part of his life, and to acknowledge that he was a free man.  Finally, he dried his tears and pulled away.  "Thank you, Mara."  

     She nodded and held his hands in her own.  She compared them to each other.  His left hand was tan, callused, and strong.    His cybernetic hand was pale and smooth, but equally strong.  

     She dropped his hands and led him to the exit ramp.  Halfway down, he turned back.  "The four of us are having dinner on the *Falcon* tonight.  You're welcome to join us, if you like."  

     "I'll bring Callie," she replied.  He nodded and left.  

**********  

Later that night:

     "Luke," Leia asked, "are you sure you're all right with Callie coming over for dinner?"  

     "Yes, Leia, I'll be fine."  

     "Hey, Luke," Han called.  "Did Mara give you a tour of the *_Jade's Fire_?*"  

     "Yeah, she did," he replied.  "That ship is great.  You should see her bridge, Han.  You'd go nuts."

     "Oh yeah?  Sounds great," he called back.  

     The ramp bell chimed.  "I'll get it," Luke called.  He straightened his tunic and let the boarding ramp down.  "Good evening, ladies.  Come on in."  He gave Mara a kiss on the cheek and hugged Callie.  He'd invited Mara; she'd merely brought Callie along.  He took Mara's flight jacket and Callie's shawl.  He escorted them to the living area, where a table had been set.  

     Leia was arranging plates on the table when the trio entered the room.  Leia gave Luke and Callie a hug and greeted Mara sincerely.  

     Han came in and repeated the greeting.  He announced that dinner would be ready in five minutes and started pouring some drinks.  Callie sat between Luke and Leia, and Mara sat on Luke's other side.  

     During the meal, Luke flipped expertly between the two conversations on either side of him.  He, Han, and Mara talked about her new ship; he, Leia, and Callie talked of her home.  At the end of the night, Luke escorted the two ladies back to their respective rooms.  At the *Jade's Fire,* he and Mara made plans to exercise together in the morning.  He led Callie to her room in the Temple.  

     While walking back to his own quarters, he thought about their talk earlier.  He hadn't seen her for two years, but that was at a distance.  Now she was here.  The last time he'd seen her, she'd said good-bye.  He'd understood that they were at the end of their road together, and that his, for a time, would be a solitary one.  But he was glad she'd come back in person to tell him she didn't love him anymore.  She probably still cared for him, and probably always would.  

     By the time he reached his room, his head was spinning.  He made a cup of hot chocolate, showered, then went to bed.  In the morning Mara was going to give him a run for his money.  

**********

Day 2[TP2] 

     Luke ran through the woods for his life.  He was two meters ahead of Mara and hadn't use the Force once.  He broke through the trees and ran for the Temple of the Blueleaf Cluster.  The sight of his goal gave him an extra burst of speed and he ran up the temple stairs a full six meters ahead of her.  

     He turned and grinned at her.  "I won," he said simply, breathing heavily.  

     "Yes, you did," she conceded, panting.  "But you'll never do it again."  

     "Can I take this thing off now," he asked, pointing to the ysalimir strapped to his back.  

     "Yep."  She watched as he dropped it unceremoniously on the stairs and walked several meters away.  He straightened up almost instantly as the Force came flooding back to him.  She laughed and gently placed her own nutrient frame next to his.  As she joined him, she inquired, "How did you manage all that speed?"  

     He grinned wickedly at her.  "Trade secret," he said devilishly.  

     "Ha!  You have no secrets.  Tell me," she demanded, tickling his stomach.  

     "Okay, okay," he said, still smiling from ear to ear.  He closed his eyes and breathed deeply, spoke a short word.  He let go of his breath and shook his upper body from side to side.  When he was still again, he'd physically changed.  

     He'd grown six centimeters, for starters.  His muscles, instead of the compact ones of an athlete, were the bristling ones of a body-builder.  His chest alone was huge.  He remarked, "I work out."  

     That made her laugh.  Luke Skywalker, Jedi Master, Rogue Squadron founder, and farmboy, was a hunk.  "Do you pose for holovids," she teased.  

     He burst out laughing.  She didn't know the half of it.  He reached into his tunic and pulled out a stack of holoframes.  He shuffled through them for her.  While all the first ones were decent, there was one he didn't want her to see.  

     Mara looked at them, amused interest mingled with shock.  She'd hit the mark.  Luke, in his heavily muscled body and wearing a wig and spectacles, was shown shirtless in many of the holoframes.  His sculpted chest and arms were shown off to all their glorious advantage.  Then he paused at one, his thumb covering the lower portion of the picture.  She knew instantly what he was hiding.  "Oh, come on, let me see it.  What are you afraid of?"  

     "Mara, I should warn you," he began, "it's not a very pretty picture."  She snatched it from him anyway.  She hooted at his slightly red face.  

     "When was this taken?"  

     "When I was sleeping, can't you tell?" he fired back sarcastically.  In the picture, he was lying in bed, tangled in the sheets.  He wore only a short-sleeved shirt, and his butt peeked out from beneath the sheets. **

     **Author's note: If any of you have seen the net picture, "Let Sleeping Jedi Lie," you can imagine this particular holoshot.**     

     "That's not what I meant," she retorted.  

     "I know," he grinned again.  "This was taken about a year and a half ago.  Some friends of mine caught me asleep and snapped a picture.  Needless to say, I never slept in the nude after that."  

     "Some friends," she smiled.  "What would Leia say if she saw these?"  

     "Don't!"  He was deadly serious.  "She doesn't know about this.  If she ever found out, it would kill her.  She really frowns upon this sort of thing.  Although I haven't done any of this in years, she'd be devastated that I ever did them at all.  I don't want her to be disappointed in me if she doesn't need to be.  Promise me you won't tell her."  

     "I promise," she said softly.  She gave him back the holoframes.  "Race you back," she yelled as she broke off at a jog.  She picked up her nutrient frame and ran for the forest.  

     "Oh, no you don't, you wench!"  He raced after her, almost a full minute behind her.  

**********

     Mara disposed of the ysalimiri while Luke went to teach his students.  He waved at Leia and Callie, who were talking by the *Falcon.*  They waved back and resumed their conversation.  

     "So tell me," Leia said, "is this young man a nice fellow?"  

     "Yes, he is," she replied.  "He's a very good man, though not as good as Luke."  

     "There isn't a man as good as Luke anywhere in the galaxy.  Even Luke's not as good as everyone thinks.  Tell me about Chad," Leia requested.  

     Callie's family had accepted her quite readily, believing her to be Callista's daughter.  Callie described her family in detail, then moved on to her homeworld.  

     They talked for hours, then broke for lunch.  Afterwards, they observed the Jedi students and played with Leia's children.  Leia commented that Callie was a natural with kids.  "I only hope I'm this natural with my own," was the reply.  

     "You will be.  I know it," Leia assured her.  

**********

     That night, they all dined on the *Falcon* again.  Luke pitched in this time, and made a special seasoning for the steak and "Aunt Beru's" chocolate sand pie.  Han promised to keep silent about Luke's cooking skills until after dinner was over, and served the food to his famished guests.  

     He said, "Try the steak," and they all started eating.  

     Everyone commented on the seasoning, but Mara couldn't get enough of it.  It was the best steak she'd ever had, so she said repeatedly.  

     Even Luke paid a neutral compliment to his brother-in-law.  "Everything tastes great, Han."  

     "Han," Mara asked, "what did you do to this steak?"  

     "I'll tell you before dessert," he answered cryptically.  

     Luke stood, carrying his empty plate.  "Why don't you tell them now, Han, while I go get it?"  He left without further delay.  

     But Han refused.  He wanted Luke to see Leia's and Mara's faces.  When Luke came back, carrying his Aunt Beru's recipe, Han blurted out, "The steak was prepared with a special seasoning made by our farmboy, here."  Han paused as the heads turned toward Luke.  "The master chef also made pie."  

     Luke was glad that Han had decided to wait.  Leia's face was a mixture of shock, wonder, and pride.  But Mara's look was priceless.  Her mouth hung open almost to her chest and her eyes were riveted on him.  She finally choked out a witty compliment, "Skywalker, you just sealed your doom.  While it's true that all bachelors can cook, the ones that cook best are bachelors longest."  

     "So that's why he isn't married yet," Han exclaimed.  "Kid, stop cooking and forget everything you ever learned!"  

     Luke laughed and served Mara a piece of pie.  

     After dessert, everyone was tired, which was a product of the pie.  It was filling and deeply satisfying.  Leia escorted Callie back to the Temple, and Luke joined Mara in her walk back to the *Jade's Fire.*  

     They walked in silence until they reached her ship.  She finally said, "Dinner was wonderful, Luke.  You really are a good cook."  

     Luke, surprised that she had used his first name, could only say, "Well, Han was the cook.  I only threw some spice on the meat."  

     "But you did bake that pie.  It was delicious."  

     "I'm glad you thought so," he said, touched by her compliment.  

     She stepped onto the ramp, then turned back.  "Will you have breakfast with me tomorrow?"  

     "Yes," he replied without thinking.  

     She beamed.  "Good.  I'd love for you to hear a prophecy in that Holocron that I found."  

     "It's a deal," he replied.  She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.  

     Stunned, he stared at her as she turned to enter the ship.  He said, "Wait," wanting to know why she'd kissed him.  He grasped her hand and spun her around.  She stumbled off the ramp and into his arms.  She looked up into his stunning blue eyes.  They radiated power and warmth, alternating between the two.  

     Staring into her deep green eyes, he kissed her.  She closed her eyes and savored the feel of his lips on hers.  She wound her arms around his shoulders.  He lifted her straight up and kissed her for dear life.  At last, she pulled her head up and said, "It's getting late, and we both need our sleep."  

      He set her down, but didn't let go just yet.  He stared into her eyes for a long time.  She was afraid he was going to kiss her again, and she knew she wouldn't be able to control herself the second time around.  He finally said, "Good night, Mara," and released her.  He was shaking uncontrollably as he made his way back to the Temple.  She herself was quivering with heightened passion.  

     As they slept that night, he in his room and she on the *Jade's Fire*, both could think of nothing but that kiss.  Mara found herself wondering what it would be like to feel those sculpted muscles under her bare hands.  Luke couldn't stop thinking that he needed to do something for her, something to make it up to her.  He racked his brain for a solution.  Then it came to him.  Dinner.  He would cook for her.  That was acceptable.  He turned on his side and went to sleep.  

**********

Day 3[TP3] 

     In the morning they ate breakfast together in the Temple's mess hall.  Afterwards, they went to his office and she showed him the entry in the Holocron she'd wanted him to see.  It was indeed an oddity.  

     While most of the entries were about the life of Jori Daragon and her brother, Gav, there were also lessons that were valuable.  Mara laughed whenever the Holocron preached that a Jedi should never deny themselves the Force.  But one prophecy caught their attention.  

_     "One day, many years hence, a brother and sister descended from Gav and I will redeem us.  These Daragons will use the Force every day, nearly every moment.  They will be revered for their powers, and loved because they are Jedi.  They will come, teaching the ancient ways of Nikamia Jedile, Astrid and Tadine.  They will be gladly welcomed into a new and growing tradition."_  Jori Daragon finished and disappeared.  

     Luke stared into space before turning to Mara.  "Interesting prophecy," he commented.  

     "That's one of the reasons I picked it up for you," she acknowledged.  They were silent for a few minutes.  

     Luke finally found courage to talk about what he'd done the night before.  "Look, Mara," he began, "about that kiss last night- No, let me finish," he stopped her interruption.  "I wanted to make it up to you.  How about I cook dinner for you tonight on the *Jade's Fire?*"  

     "Just for me?"  

     "Just for you.  What would you like?"  

     "Oh, I don't care," she replied.  "Could you make something as good as that steak?"  

     "I can make lots of things."  He perked up as a thought entered his mind.  "I know.  I'll make grilled woolamander and fruit pie."  

     "Sounds good.  Is 1930 a good time?"  

     "Yes, I'll see you then."  She left his office and went back to her ship.  

**********

     The next few hours were routine for Luke.  He gave a morning lecture to his students and presided over the lessons of the beginners.  He and Leia had a quiet lunch together atop the Great Temple.  He showed her the Holocron, and explained how he'd gotten it.  She asked where Mara found it.  He told her he didn't know, and that he didn't really want to ask.  When they finished their lunch, he set out to catch dinner.  

     At 1830, he gathered all the materials together for both dinner and dessert, then transferred them to the *Jade's Fire.*  He locked Mara in her quarters and started cooking.  

**********

     While Luke banged around at her cooking unit, Mara showered and changed into an evening gown of pale green.  With thigh-high slits, a scallop-cut neckline and a wide open back, it had a stunning effect.  As she waited for Luke to finish, she admired her reflection.  She hadn't gotten this dressed up since-  She paused.  Why was she dressing up for Luke Skywalker?  

     Before she could change into something else, the Jedi came and unlocked the door.  He, too, looked stunning.  A custom-cut Harkin tuxedo suit showed off his muscular proportions.  He stood just outside the door, admiring her outfit.  Finally he said, "Dinner's ready.  You look wonderful."  

     "Thank you," she replied.  "You look pretty stunning, yourself."  

     "Why, Mara Jade, I think that's the first compliment you've ever given me that wasn't hard-earned," he teased.  

     "Don't hope for too many of them, Skywalker."  He laughed and escorted her to the dining area.  The table was set and a 48 carafe of SaberFyre brandy sat cooling in an ice bucket.  Luke helped Mara sit, then poured the drinks.  

     The woolamander was, if possible, even better than the steak.  It was served with the fruit pie, which had a mixture of different local fruits for the filling and a flaky crust.  They talked of Luke's cooking during the dinner, and it was then that Mara discovered the secret of Luke's culinary skills.  

     "New Republic Intelligence taught me gourmet cooking as part of my survival and undercover skills."  

     "The NRI?" she questioned.  

     "I work for the NRI.  I have for a long time, in fact."  He proceeded to explain around a mouthful of pie.  

     The year Leia and Han married, he became a covert operative for the New Republic Intelligence.  Over the ensuing four years, he did little for the NRI except its most difficult undercover missions.  

     He became good friends with Crix Madine, who was elected president of the NRI only weeks before his death.  In a memo found among General Madine's personal belongings, he dictated his wishes that Luke Skywalker should replace him as president if anything happened to him.  The officers had unanimously elected Luke.  He had accepted the position under his NRI alias Josef Ortonn, and appointed Kyp Durron as his vice president.  

     Mara ate in relative silence, letting his words sink in.  Suddenly, Luke had turned into a man who knew anything he wanted with a snap of his fingers, and not some humble Jedi.  He'd astonished her more in one day than he had in the entire six years she'd known him.  

     Some of the best information brokers she knew, excluding Karrde, couldn't rival Luke's worst slicers.  Then again, he had Ghent working for him.  Mara could more easily bestow upon Luke the respect and admiration he deserved.  

     She'd heard a lot about the man known only as Josef Ortonn from both Karrde and his associates.  Karrde openly admitted that Ortonn was the best at what he did, and Karrde's good word was extremely hard to come by.  

     Luke cleared the table and poured another round of drinks.  As she drank from the glass, Mara eyed the storage cabinet across the room.  "Luke," she asked with a sly grin, "did the NRI ever teach you how to dance?"  

     He followed her gaze.  The cabinet was clearly labeled, "Dance Music."  He glanced at her.  She was grinning devilishly.  She pointed to an open space off to his right.  He smiled and said, "Sure, why not?"  

     He took off his jacket and accessories and folded them gently, laying them on the table.  He unbuttoned his sleeves and shirt collar.  Mara watched his actions closely while picking out some music.  "Why not just take the whole shirt off," she asked sarcastically.  

     "You sure," he asked cautiously.  It was hot in her ship, and removing the shirt would make him feel more comfortable.  

     She considered his question carefully, then responded, "Yeah, go ahead."  In a spirit of good will, she let down her hair and took off her shoes.  

     Luke also removed his shoes, and took off his socks and shirt as well.  He squatted down next to her, wondering what she would pick.  She risked a side glance at him and nearly fell backwards.  Up close, he was even more handsome than in any of his holoframes.  His chest and arm muscles were so defined they were almost chiseled in his flesh.  

     His arm snaked out to break her fall.  Her skin tingled where he had touched her when he took his hand away.  It hovered nearby, steadying her.  She gathered the recordings she'd chosen and closed the cabinet doors.  Luke jumped up and offered her his hand.  She took it, and hauled herself up.  

     Mara walked over to the audio player and put in the recorder disks.  She pushed a few buttons on the front of the device, choosing the order of music.  Behind her, Luke moved some of the furniture around to create more dance space.  

     He stood in the middle of the floor, waiting patiently.  As she joined him, fast-paced Verpine rhythms blared from the speakers.  Mara moved to the music, trying to teach him the steps.  A few of them he caught, but most flew by too fast to pick up.  Halfway into the third song, he said, "Stop, stop.  Wait a minute."  He walked to the recorder and examined the order.  He made a few changes, and stepped back.  Swinging jizz music poured from the speakers a few seconds later.  "Cantina jizz," he said, turning back to her.  She smiled back at him, wryly.  "You know this stuff don't you?"  

     "Sure do," she replied.  She took his hands and they started to dance.  They whirled together across the floor to the music of the Modal Nodes and the Flying Neutrinos.  

     Luke was a natural with this type of music, and Mara was a natural anytime.  He spun her back and forth until the room, too, was spinning.  Stumbling away from him, this wild man who could match her step for step, she said, "I'm dizzy."  

     "Oh," Luke commented, "okay."  He went and made some more changes on the audio player.  Slow blues music, sung by the famous singer Judas Akim, played softly.  She nodded, and stepped into position.  Her left hand automatically went to his right shoulder and her right hand clasped his left.  His right hand rested on her waist.

     They moved slowly, following Luke's lead.  Somehow, over the next two songs the distance between them decreased.  An observer would have noticed Mara's arm circling around Luke's shoulder blade.  The action brought her closer to him.  She inhaled his scent.  He smelled like chocolate, interestingly enough.  

     Luke's hand traveled to the small of Mara's back.  As they danced, he gently pulled her closer to him.  He buried his nose in her hair.  It smelled like apples.  As the tune "At the Beginning" began, the dancers abandoned traditional rules.  

     Mara laid her head on Luke's bare shoulder and embraced him.  He enveloped her in his broad arms.  They said nothing, letting the song speak for them:   

_     We were strangers, starting out on a journey.  _

_     Never dreaming, what we'd have to go through.  _

_     Now here we are, and I'm suddenly standing_

_     At the beginning with you.  _

_     "No one told me I was going to find you.  _

_     Unexpected, what you did to my heart.  _

_     When I lost hope, you were there to remind me,_

_     This is the start.  _

_     And life is a road and I want to keep going,_

_     Love is a river I wanna keep flowing,_

_     Life is the road, now and forever,_

_     Wonderful journey.  _

_     I'll be there when the world stops turning.  _

_     I'll be there when the storm is through.  _

_     In the end, I wanna be standing_

_     At the beginning with you.  _

_     We were strangers, on a crazy adventure.  _

_     Never dreaming, how our dreams would come true.  _

_     Now here we stand, unafraid of the future.  _

_     At the beginning with you.  _

_     Life is a road and I want to keep going,_

_     Love is a river I wanna keep flowing,_

_     Life is the road, now and forever,_

_     Wonderful journey.  _

_     I'll be there when the world stops turning.  _

_     I'll be there when the storm is through.  _

_     In the end, I wanna be standing_

_     At the beginning with you.  _

_     I knew there was somebody somewhere,_

_     Like me alone in the dark.  _

_     Now I know my dream will live on,_

_     I've been waiting so long,_

_     Nothing's gonna tear us apart.  _

_     Life is a road and I want to keep going,_

_     Love is a river I wanna keep flowing,_

_     Life is the road, now and forever,_

_     Wonderful journey.  _

_     I'll be there when the world stops turning.  _

_     I'll be there when the storm is through.  _

_     In the end, I wanna be standing_

_     At the beginning with you.  _

_     Life is a road and I wanna keep going,_

_     Love is a river I wanna keep going on_

_     Starting out on a journey.  _

_     Life is a road and I wanna keep going,_

_     Love is a river I wanna keep flowing,_

_     In the end, I wanna be standing_

_     At the beginning with you."  ~At the Beginning, Richard Marx & Donna Lewis_

     As the song faded into silence and a new one began, Mara lifted her head and stared into his eyes.  She found warmth and peace in those pools of blue.  She kissed him gently.  He inhaled sharply and returned her kiss fiercely.  He squeezed his arms tighter around her.  She kissed him hungrily, her hands running over his muscles.  

     His lips devoured hers.  His hands kept her close, resting on her spine.  Her fingernails left small scratches on his back.  His tongue stroked hers with powerful thrusts.  She leaned into him, rubbing up against his thighs.  He leaned over her, caressing her bottom.  

     The kiss went on forever before they pulled apart.  He gasped for breath and put his hand to his lips.  She did the same.  He turned away, trembling.  

     They were silent for several minutes.  Mara finally said, "Do you want to test fly the *Fire* with me tomorrow?"  

     "I'd like that," he responded.  "Meet you here at 0830?"  

     "I'll be waiting," she whispered.  He left and she tormented herself.  She never should have danced with him.  Try as she might, she couldn't get the feel of him out of her mind.  

**********

Day 4[TP4] 

     After the *Falcon* went back to Coruscant, Luke arrived at the *Jade's Fire* a few minutes before 0830 in a comfortable, worn-in flight suit.  Mara greeted him at the ramp, wearing one of her indistinguishable jumpsuits.  Luke couldn't resist a mental jibe: 'Aw, what, no dress today?'  He grinned when she blushed furiously at the memory of their kiss.  A vision of him, half-naked, swam before her eyes.  She shook her head to clear it, and led him inside.  

     She showed him the systems on the bridge and was trying to show him how to use them when he shocked her yet again.  He turned on the *Fire*'s operational systems and lifted off as smoothly as if the ship was a bird, prepped for flight.  As she watched his progress through the forward viewscreen, deeply impressed, he remarked dryly, "I've flown Kuat DX-39s before, Mara."  She stared at him incredulously, then turned back to the viewscreen.   

     The *Fire* exited Yavin IV's atmosphere and the Jedi Master relinquished the controls.  Mara took them out to orbit Yavin's eighth moon.  Luke stared at the gas giant to the port side of the ship.  Mara dropped her hands from the controls and rubbed her neck.  

     Luke rose from his chair and stood behind her.  He placed his hands on her neck and squeezed, gently.  She dropped her arms and allowed him to massage her neck and shoulders.  

     Luke kept an eye on his right hand, careful not to rub too hard.  If he pressed too much with his cybernetic hand, he could strangle her.  He gently worked the tension out of her muscles and then started massaging her scalp.  She moaned and closed her eyes.  

     When he stopped, she lowered her head.  He put his hands on her shoulders and kissed her neck.  She gasped and lifted her head, trying to make him stop.  Instead, his lips were in a prime position to kiss the side of her neck along her jaw.  

     She gave up, and circled her arm around the back of his head.  His lips caressed the soft flesh below her jaw.  He worked his way up to her ear, inhaling the apple scent of her hair.  He blew softly in her ear, and she shuddered.  He nibbled lightly on her ear lobe.  

     "Nnhh," she moaned.  He'd just found her button, the one place that would make her go crazy with passion.  She turned her head and kissed him.  She got out of the chair.  He led her around to the middle of the bridge.  

     Luke wrapped his arms around her waist.  She leaned into him, her tongue probing the inside of his mouth.  His roving hands took the ribbon out of her hair.  The reddish-gold waves fell down her back.  He cradled her face with both of his hands.  

     Mara pulled off his tunic.  Their lips still locked, he took it from her and gently laid it on the navicomputer console.  He found the catch at the back of her neck and unzipped her jumpsuit.  He pulled off the top half of the one-piece outfit.  

     He slid his left hand inside her bra and caressed her right breast.  She moaned and pushed in closer to him.  He bent his head and left a trail of kisses from her left shoulder to her cleavage.  She threaded her fingers through his hair and pushed his head closer.  

     He kissed his way back up to her lips and drank of them.  Suddenly, without any cause or warning, she pulled away and said, "Wait."  

     "What?" he said, blinking in confusion.  

     "Wait," she repeated.  "I'll be right back."  Too startled to even stutter a reply, he watched as she went towards her quarters.  

     He only waited for about five minutes, but it felt like all eternity had passed before he saw her again.  His jaw dropped at the sight of the provocative goddess before him.  She was wearing some black lacy thing, and had pulled her hair back with a gold and jade clasp...  

**********

     Luke kissed Mara and gently pulled himself out of her.  She winced in pain and tried to hide it.  Confused, he looked towards her hips.  He bolted upright.  There, beneath them on the sheets, was some of Mara's blood.  

     "Mara," he began.  

     She steadied him with a hand on his arm.  "Relax, Luke.  It's all right."  

     "But-"  

     "It's fine," she reassured him.  "Let it be."  

     He stared at the blood again, then looked at her.  Aside from that first moment, she hadn't felt much pain.  Then, it clicked together abruptly.  "You're a virgin.  Or were, anyway," he amended.  

     She nodded and smiled.  

     "But how-  never mind."  He didn't need any explanations from her.  "Does it hurt much," he asked, lying beside her.  

     "It feels better with you inside me," she replied, turning to him.  He entered her again, slowly pushing to the length of his phallus.  He could feel her pain adjust little by little, then it abated.  He turned over so she could rest on top of him.  

     He pulled a cover over them and gently stroked her back.  She dozed off, content and warm.  He took time to meditate on his feelings.  Mara was a complex woman, and their relationship was equally so.  Initially founded out of necessity - she'd put off killing him when they first met because she needed him alive - their relationship slowly developed into friendship.  Mara was hard-edged, often bitter, fiercely loyal, and honest to the point of being blunt.  

     He, on the other hand, was quiet, gentle, and severely secretive.  Both of them longed for adventure.  While she went in search of it, it came in search of him.  His life as a Jedi Master was supposed to be peaceful and serene.  The last decade had been anything but.  He'd been saving the galaxy in one way or another most of his adult life.  

     But even with all the action, he was terribly lonely.  And Mara, though seemingly content with her life, longed for someone as much as he did.  Of course, for him there would always be Callista.  But they had failed each other.  He hadn't been sensitive enough to her handicap, and she hadn't been able to commit to their relationship.  Mara filled a void in him and added life that the many years of service to the New Republic and the Alliance had taken away from him.  She stirred, causing his phallus to quiver with passion, and whispered, "Stop that."  

     "Stop what?"  

     "Stop pondering.  Just go to sleep, or whatever it is that you Jedi Masters do instead of sleep."  She was asleep again before she finished.  

     He chuckled and, kissing the top of her head, closed his eyes and went to sleep.  

**********

Five weeks later[TP5] 

     Leia was preparing for work when Luke called, so Han answered the vidphone.  "Hey, Luke.  What do you need?"  

     "Is Leia available?  I need to talk to her about something."  

     "Sure, kid.  Hang on a minute."  He put Jacen and Jaina on to talk while he went and found Leia.  

     "Hi, Uncle Luke," said Jacen.  "Are you on Coruscant?"  

     "No, I'm here on Yavin," he replied.  

     "When are you coming here?"  

     "I'm not sure, Jaina.  Soon, I hope," he answered.  Just then, Leia appeared in the background.  She chased the twins away and greeted her brother.  

     "Hello, Luke.  Han said you needed to speak to me?"  

     He didn't waste any time getting to the point.  "Can you put a privacy field on?  I don't want the kids to hear this."  

     Her eyes widened.  She touched a button, and the room behind her blurred.  "What is it, Luke?"  

     "It's about Mara and I.  We-"  Here he paused, not knowing exactly how to tell her his feelings.  "We shared an intimate - a very intimate moment together last month."  

     "Intimacy of the baby-making kind?"  Leia arched her brow slightly.  

     "Yes," Luke replied, red-faced.  She knew him so well.  Too well.  

     "I think it's wonderful, Luke.  But why are you telling me?"  

     "I'm falling in love with her," he deadpanned.  

     His confession hit her hard.  Leia was so stunned, she was stuck to the floor.  Finally, she whispered, "Luke, are you serious?"  

     "Yes I am, Leia."  

     "That's- that's wonderful, Luke.  What are you going to do?"  

     "I'm going to think about it, first, then if I still feel this way after a few months, I'm going to propose."  

     He'd shocked her again.  She checked her chrono.  Only thirty seconds into their conversation and he'd shocked her out of her mind twice.  Propose?  Leia was speechless.  He'd never felt that strongly about anyone but herself and Callie.  What had happened to them on Yavin to make him feel this way?  

     "Leia," he said, concerned by her silence, "do you approve?"  

     "Yes, Luke, I do.  I think she's a wonderful choice.  That is, if you love her.  I'll keep this to myself until you've proposed."  

     "Thank you, Leia."  He smiled, and signed off.  

     Leia turned off the comm and sat back, stunned into disbelief.  Luke Skywalker and Mara Jade?  While on the surface it seemed ludicrous, at its core it was a perfect match.  For six years their relationship had been platonic, but now that was no longer the case.  She'd seen the way they acted around each other, and a small part of her thought it was about time.  

**********

Yavin IV, two months later[TP6] 

     Luke scanned through his messages absent-mindedly, looking for one in particular that Kyp was supposed to have sent him.  He stopped at one marked "Urgent- Sender: Jade's Fire."  He eagerly opened the file.  

     Mara had been gone for little over three months on a trading run for Karrde.  Through he missed her terribly, he patiently awaited the day she would return.  Then they could build a relationship, maybe even a life together.  

     Her message dampened his hopes, but only slightly:   "Luke, have found window in trading schedule.  Will be stopping by Academy for a little R & R three weeks hence.  MJ."  

     He deleted the message and continued his searching.  He'd waited for her this long, he could wait three more weeks.  

**********

Three weeks later[TP7] 

     Luke waited patiently as the *Jade's Fire* came to a soft landing in front of the Academy's Great Temple.  He directed his students to unload the supplies they needed from her cargo bay and entered the ship.  He found Mara in the cockpit, again shutting down the systems.  

     He came up behind her and took her in his arms.  He kissed her hair and inhaled its scent.  She turned in his embrace and kissed him, softly.  "I've missed you," he whispered after they separated.   

     "I know," she replied.  "I've felt you, at the back of my mind.  It's almost as if you were just in the other room.  Quite maddening, at times."  

     "Finally driving you insane, am I," he asked sardonically.  

     She shadow punched him on the arm and reentered the circle of his arms.  She felt so safe and warm here.  She could go to sleep, right here in his embrace.  

     When Luke realized that was exactly what she had done, he chuckled softly to himself.  Keeping her asleep, he picked her up and carried her to her bed.  

**********

     At dinner that evening, Mara updated Luke and Kyp on the current events, from her point of view.  There wasn't much that escaped the two of them, but it was always refreshing to see things from a different perspective.  Luke had gotten that tactic from Mon Mothma herself.  When a person's mind was kept open to new ideas, they saw things more clearly and adapted to situations more readily.  

     But, even with that in mind, it was still old news.  Drastically old, some of it.  When Luke and Kyp exchanged slightly exasperated glances for the fourth time, she stopped.  "I'm sorry," she said, taking a bite of food.  "I didn't realize you guys have probably heard all of this."  

     "It's okay, Mara."  Kyp threw a grin at Luke.  *_Tune in next time for the Yavin 4 news broadcast.  The top news stories, two months late!_* he called through the Force.  

     Luke tried not to laugh and nearly choked on a piece of meat.  Mara looked at him and asked, "What did he say?"  

     "You don't want to know."  

     Indignant, she attacked her plate.  She hadn't eaten a decent meal in quite a while and her appetite was rather large.  

**********

     That night, as she and Luke lay cooling, he asked her a subtle question.  "Did you miss me, Mara?"  

     "Yes," she said without preamble, startling him.  

     "You did?"  

     "Yes. I told you, we have a Jedi link. It felt like you were there sometimes, just behind me where I couldn't see you. It was driving me insane, so I came here as soon as I could."

     He gathered her close with his arms. She nestled her head in the crook of his neck. As she breathed soft, warm air across his throat, he made a silent decision. He would save his money and buy her a nice ring. When she came back from her next trading run, he would ask her to marry him.

**********

Three months later[TP8] 

     Luke surveyed his handiwork of the evening. Mara was due for dinner any minute now. The table was illuminated softly by candlelight. He patted the breast of his tuxedo jacket. Yes, the ring he'd picked out for Mara was in his pocket.

     The grilled bantha steak was sliced and ready for serving. It sat on top of a warming plate to keep it from getting cold. Next to his plate was a dish of mixed vegetables, seasoned with Corellian spices. A bottle of dry green wine chilled next to Mara's plate. Another of Aunt Beru's recipes, lime pie, waited in the refrigeration unit for dessert.

     His door chimed. His heart jumped into his throat. This was it. This night would make or break the rest of his life. He couldn't imagine that she would say no, but he was so afraid of rejection that the mere possibility of her refusal scared the wits out of him. He forced his excited nerves to calm down and answered the door.

     Mara was wearing a knee-length black dress with broad straps, a low neckline and an even lower back. He ushered her inside. She said, "Dinner smells wonderful, Luke."

     They embraced and he said, "I'm glad you could come." He kissed her gently. They parted. "Here, sit down." He held out a seat for her.

     As they ate, they caught up on the last three months. She complimented his cooking as she finished. He cleared away the dishes and brought in dessert. Mara had two slices of pie, then pronounced herself full.

     They chatted about nothing for a while, until finally Luke got his courage up. "Mara," he began, "we need to talk."

     "Sounds serious."

     "It is." He got up from the table and walked a few paces away. His back to her, he said, "I've been doing a lot of thinking since you were last here, and I've come to a decision." He took the ring box out of his pocket and opened it. In one fluid move he turned, dropped to one knee, and presented her the ring.

     "Will you marry me, Mara? I want to spend the rest of my life with you. You make me feel alive in a way no one else has." He was silent for a moment, waiting for a possible answer from her. When he was met with stone silence, he prodded, "Will you marry me?"

     She thought hard and furiously. She knew what her answer was, but how could she tell him? She finally blurted out, "I can't, Luke. You see, I'm just not ready for that kind of commitment. And besides, marriage just isn't something I see in my life at all. I'm sorry, but I can't." With that she left, hoping to avoid an awkward situation.

     Luke dropped the ring box and staggered to his seat. She'd refused. He hung his head in hands. He couldn't believe it. He could have sworn there was a connection between them that transcended the normal bond between teacher and student. And of course, there was the matter of their relationship over the last seven months.

     All at once, the grief and despair overcame him. He cradled his head in his arms on the table and cried.

     Outside the Temple, the *Jade's Fire* lifted off and climbed for high orbit. She jumped to lightspeed as soon as possible, leaving behind two dozen confused Jedi Knights and one heartbroken Master.

**********

Coruscant, three weeks later[TP9] 

     Leia woke with a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach. She immediately attributed it to her nightmare. She ran through the images in her mind, trying to overcome her fear and despair.

     She saw herself as she had in her dream, first flying through the air. She relished the feeling of flight, soaring above the Great Temple on Yavin 4. Then the ground came rushing towards her.

     She stood, and looked down at herself. She was wearing all black, just as Luke always wore. As she stared down where she'd fallen, she saw his body. She knew instantly he was dead. Before she could go to him, her surroundings changed. Luke and Yavin 4 were gone. She was on a ship, one she'd never seen before. She had a blaster in one hand, a drink in the other.

     She finished off the drink, then raised the blaster to her head. She whispered something, she wasn't quite sure what, and pulled the trigger.  That was when she'd woken from the nightmare.  

     Leia shivered and got dressed.  What could it mean?  She let Han sleep, she wasn't ready to explain her dream to him yet.  But Luke would know how to help her.  He was in her dream, after all.  

     She checked on the children.  The twins were getting ready for school, Anakin was playing with his blocks, trying to build a huge city.  She left them and called Luke on Yavin.  

     Kyp answered and said, "Hi, Leia, what do you need?"  

     "Kyp, is Luke there?"  

     "No, he left yesterday to talk to you in person."  

     "Oh."  He was coming *here*?  Was he having visions, too?  "Thank you, Kyp."  

     She was about to sign off when Kyp interjected.  "Leia, whatever he tells you, support him.  He's been thinking about this decision ever since Mara refused his proposal.  Okay?  Just go easy on him and let him know you're there for him.  And tell him that you love him.  He needs to hear that right now."  

     "I understand.  Thanks again, Kyp."  

     "One last thing.  Sorry."  She smiled.  "Make time for him.  Forego your political duties on this trip.  This may be the last time you'll get to see him."  He signed off before she could ask him to explain.  

     What could it all mean?  Something in her mind clicked and a possible solution presented itself.  It was one so horrible, she couldn't think about it.  She pushed it to the back of her mind and helped the children get ready.  

**********

Later that day[TP10] 

     Leia waited patiently for her brother's X-wing to land.  As per Kyp's advice, she'd canceled all of her appointments and meetings to be with him.  She walked towards him as he hopped down from the cockpit.  They embraced while Artoo floated to the ground.  

     Luke pulled back, said in a quiet voice, "We need to talk, Leia."  He turned to get his bag, saw Artoo standing there behind him.  He looked back at his sister.  "You've been practicing," he stated.  

     "A little," she replied.  She took his arm and led him inside.  She noted the change in him as they walked.  His head was hung in despair or sadness – or both.  He plodded along, dragging his feet beside her.  

     A frown creased her forehead.  Just a month ago, there had been a spring in his step and a smile glued to his face constantly.  All of his friends and family had noticed Mara's influence on his life.  None of them had understood it when Mara refused his proposal.  

     Leia remembered how nervous and earnestly sincere he'd sounded when he called her to say he was in love with Mara.  It was as if he was begging for her approval or blessing.  She started as Luke said, "Yeah, well that's all over now."  

     "Stay out of my head, brother dear," she admonished.  

     He blushed and stammered out an apology.  "Sorry, Leia."  

     "That's all right," she soothed as they got to her office.  She shooed away her assistants and her bodyguards and locked the door.  She poured them drinks and sat by him in front of her desk.  She went first, wanting his input on her nightmare.  

     "Luke, I had a bad dream last night.  I think it was a vision."  

     He perked up slightly.  "Tell me," he requested.  

     She told him about her nightmare from start to finish.  He stared at her, then mumbled, "I didn't know I was broadcasting on such a wide band."  

     "What do you mean, Luke?"  

     He was silent for several moments.  "Leia, I've made a decision.  I don't want to live my life alone.  I don't want to live without Mara in my life.  I really do love her."  He sighed and sat back.  "The first part of your vision came from me.  I've thought about this long and hard, and I've discovered the only way I'm going to get any peace in my life is to end it.  I'm going to commit suicide at the end of the week."  

     The tears streamed down her face as she realized her nightmare was coming true.  The feeling of soaring in the air came back to her.  Luke was going to kill himself.  

     She felt a pair of strong arms surround her and clung to her twin.  This would be the last time they'd ever be together as brother and sister.  She felt her hair becoming wet, and she knew that Luke was crying, too.  

     "I'm so sorry, Leia," he sobbed.  "I just can't go on without her!"  

     "I'm going to miss you so much, Luke.  I wish it didn't have to be this way."  

     "I don't want to leave you.  Or Han, or the children or even Threepio."  They shared a tear-filled chuckle.  "But I just can't live like this anymore."  

     "I understand," she whispered.  "I love you, Luke.  I love you and I always have.  I'll try to ease the pain with Han and the kids."  She sniffed and touched his forehead with her own.  

     He sniffled and kissed her forehead.  He drew her back into his embrace.  She knew she had to let him go, but she couldn't.  He was the only blood family she had left.  "I love you, Leia.  Never forget that."  

     "I won't."  She knew this was it.  She would never get another chance to speak to him.  "I love you, Luke."  She looked into his eyes, those blue eyes she'd known her whole life.  At this moment, they were more dear to her then the waters of Alderaan.  She closed her eyes, trying to picture him.  

     He was concerned by this, and said, "Leia?"  

     "Shh.  I'm memorizing your face."  

     "Scars, warts, tears, and all?"  Her eyes flew open to catch his smile.  His eyes were red from crying, but it was a genuine smile.  She smiled at him and sighed.  

     "Everything," she replied.  He lifted her chin and gazed in her eyes.  A single tear rolled down his face.  She smoothed it away.  He caught her hand, kissed her palm.  She put her arms around his neck.  He laced his hands together and rested them on her waist.  She brought his head closer to hers.  He leaned in and gently kissed her.  She closed her eyes and kissed him back.  She ignored the voices in her mind that screamed at her, said this is wrong, he's your brother, stop!  True, Luke was her brother.  But she'd always loved him first in her heart.  

     She ignored everything but him.  Their love for each other permeated the air, surrounding them in the Force.  Finally, he broke off.  Leia found fresh tears streaming down both their faces.  "Goodbye, Leia.  Han's coming and I can't face him right now."  He started to go, and she called out his name.  

     He turned and she was tongue-tied.  She couldn't say goodbye, but she couldn't just let him leave.  "Tell Father I said hello."  

     He smiled and said, "I will."  He raised his hand in farewell.  She waved back, relieved that her last vision of him would be him smiling and waving goodbye.  

     She relocked the office door and sat in her chair.  Already, she could feel him distancing himself, slightly deconstructing their bond so she wouldn't feel his death.  She relaxed, and tore down her side of their twinship.  She could feel his pride.  She sent him one final message:  _I love you, brother.  See you on the other side._  

     _I'll be waiting, sister.  I love you._  

     She sat back in her chair and meditated, thoroughly disgusted at what life had done to her brother.  She was thankful she had a family to turn to but at the same time, she was sad that Luke didn't have a family of his own.  

     What a mess this was turning out to be.  In five days, she would be losing the only family she'd ever known.  

**********

The _Jade's Fire_, the next day[TP11] 

     Mara woke from a nightmare.  She seemed to be getting more of them lately.  But this one was different.  In it, all of her single friends got married and moved away, and she remained a lonely bachelorette.  The words she'd given Luke rang in her head as she refused suitor after suitor.  Then she died, an old maid.  She'd never experienced marriage, which she appeared to be thankful for, but she'd also never had the love of children.  

     Love.  She could've had that, with Luke.  She admired him and he claimed to love her deeply.  She was saddened, remembering her loneliness from her dream.  As she got dressed, she decided that she didn't want her life to end that way.  She'd make one more stop on her trading run, then head for Yavin 4.  She owed it to Luke to apologize and accept his proposal.  

**********

Yavin 4, two days later[TP12] 

     Luke spent his days in the same way he always had.  His morning exercises, the morning master class for his students, then his office hours for work.  He enjoyed his office hours, for he was able to free his mind from its Jedi constraints and let loose with his creative and slightly reckless side.  

     But today was not a day for recklessness.  This time, his work was serious.  He was putting his final affairs in order.  The first point of business was a will.  He put it in a message cube for his sister and sent a copy to Kyp, before he remembered Kyp had stopped checking his messages.  He was almost finished with his affairs.  He cracked a grim smile.  He was treating his life and the Academy as if they were a business.  

     Yoda would've scolded him and made him sleep outside in the rain.  But Yoda wasn't here.  Neither was Ben, or his father.  He paused a moment in his task.  

     He wondered if he would exist in the Afterlife as a spirit or as the Force.  If as a spirit, would he be able to see his father or no?  he sat in quiet contemplation of his fate.  Then he heard a soft whisper, in the air and through the Force.  It was a single word, "Both."  

     "What?"  He looked around for the source of the voice.  "What do you mean, both?"  

     "You will exist as both when you die."  

     The mist in his office seemed to coalesce around a single point.  A figure formed in the air.  "Ben?"  

     The sound/thought voice chuckled.  "Not quite," he replied.  The figure stepped into a darker spot in Luke's study.  

     He had seen this person only once before, but the memory had stuck with him, burned to the back of his eyeballs.  He'd never spoken, at least not to Luke.  "Father?"  

     "That's me," Anakin Skywalker said with a broad smile.  

     "Are you here to persuade me not to kill myself?"  

     "No, my son.  As much as life is valued here, it is solely your decision.  If you feel you are that unloved, and that death would be so much easier a choice, it is still your choice to make.  Besides, I want you to die so you can join us and we can have fun.  Yoda's being a terribly sore winner."  He grinned.  

     Luke chuckled.  He wished that he'd known his father a little more.  Anakin had an easy-going disposition, quick humor, and a rapier wit.  Must be where Leia got it from.  

     "A little," Anakin answered, picking up on his thought.  "She gets her fire from me.  In everything else, she's like your mother."  

     "What was she like, Father?"  

     "There'll be time enough for that when you join us, whether now or many years from now.  Take your time, settle everything, go and visit old friends long forgotten.  You'll be thankful if you do."  His father started to fade.  "I hope to see you soon, Luke, but I'll be very pleased if I don't."  And his father was gone.  

     Just like old Ben, his father hadn't directly answered many of his questions.  But he'd at least been more humorous about it.  Luke sent a silent thanks to his father.  With just a few sentences, he'd lifted Luke's spirits.  He spent the rest of the day in fair, if not good, humor.  

**********

_Jade's Fire_, Bakura

     Mara finished her filework and boarded her ship.  Her trading run had been very successful.  Karrde would be happy when he saw her report.  She'd have to set up a meeting with him when she got to Yavin.  

     Her crew was already in position, their spirits light and cheery despite the rainy weather.  The Bakurans had treated them rather well, now that they were charter members of the New Republic.  Mara herself had a private lunch with Gaeriel Captison-Thanas.  The Prime Minister had asked her about Luke and Leia, and inquired about Luke's Academy.  

     Mara had answered as best she could without betraying their relationship.  She knew she'd hurt Luke terribly by refusing his proposal.  She'd heard his cries of loss and grief and rage as she ran to her ship.  She'd noticed the strange looks from the students and had fled the Academy entirely.  

     She pushed her thoughts aside and gave the command to her pilot.  While he was no Luke Skywalker, he was a loyal worker and a smart man.  He obeyed her without question, believing that her Force senses gave her an edge he didn't understand.  

     They entered hyperspace, two days travel from Yavin 4.  She was two days away from reconciliation with the man she was willing to love with all her heart.  

**********

Yavin 4, dawn, two days later[TP13] 

     Luke stood on the roof of the Great Temple, watching the sun rise.  Yavin loomed overhead and back a little bit, nearing the end of its cycle in the moon's view.  Today was his last day alive.  He intended to jump off this very building at sunset.  

     His students had given him a small goodbye party yesterday.  He'd given them gifts from his personal possessions.  He'd already turned the Academy over to Streen and Tionne, and had resigned from the NRI.  Kyp was now in place as president, with Luke's – and Leia's, he thought with a half-grin – faithful assistant Farlan as vice-president.  Farlan was the NRI alias for Winter, Leia's aide and friend from Alderaan.  Luke was confident in his antecessors.  He knew the NRI and the Academy were in good hands.  

     At his request, the students would ignore him all day.  If they had any question or problems, they would go to Streen or Tionne or, in dire emergency, Kam Solusar.  Kam had trained under his father Ranik, a Jedi Knight in the Old Republic.  He was a good source of information.  

     Luke turned away from the view and back to his two projects.  The first was almost complete.  It was a holorecording of his last wishes, a will and testament of sorts.  He just had to decide how his financial holdings would be divided.  Money wasn't a problem at all.  

     Luke had inherited his father's billions as soon as the New Republic set up on Coruscant.  He hadn't told anyone, not even Leia.  But she would find out as soon as she executed his will.  

     He knew he wanted to leave something for his niece and nephews, but he also wanted to provide for any children he might have.  Though Callie hadn't mentioned anything, he could have given her a child.  Mara could be pregnant even now.  

     The thought made his eyes widen.  By the Force, he could be orphaning a child.  He sank to a sitting position on the roof and ran his fingers through his hair.  

     The Larses had raised him pretty well.  True, he hadn't been allowed to do half the stuff he'd wanted to do as a kid, or even as a teenager.  But they had taught him honesty, the value of hard work, and had nurtured a stubbornness that was deep within him.  Who could he trust to do the same for his own child, if he decided to go through with this insanity?  Could he even do it?  Could he really throw himself off this temple if there was a possibility he might be leaving a child behind?  

     He shook his head.  Mara would have known by now, certainly.  She would have told him, or if she hadn't, it meant she didn't want him to be a part of the child's life.  He picked up the tiny message cube, his decision made.  He pressed the recording button, and picked up where he left off.  When he finished, he put the cube aside.  

     He picked up his second project.  It was a triangular prism, light blue in color.  The only other two he'd ever seen had been green.  He hoped it didn't matter what color it was, as long as the knowledge of the Jedi was kept inside.  He also hoped this Holocron would work.  He'd discovered things about the Force he hadn't found in records or his other Holocrons, the ones of Bodo Baas and Jori Daragon.  He wanted to pass that knowledge on to his students, and this seemed to be the easiest way.  

     He'd found a method after his second day on the project, one that seemed to work quite well.  He meditated, became one with the Force, then began to speak.  As visions and images came to him, the words describing the actions and steps involved poured forth from his lips.  He'd stumbled upon this after falling asleep during one session, and talking in his sleep.  Unorthodox, true, but it worked so far.  

     He sat on the roof stones and assumed a comfortable position, his back against the wall.  He closed his eyes, took a relaxing breath, and calmed his thoughts.  As he began to speak, he wondered what would happen after death.  As his mind and voice pondered the matter, the Holocron dutifully recorded everything.  

     A beeping noise woke him half an hour before sunset.  The Holocron was full, it couldn't hold anymore.  He stood and looked at the view.  The sunset today was beautiful.  A tear fell from his eye as he realized he would never see another sunrise or sunset.  

     "That's not entirely true," a voice said from behind him.  Or was it inside of him?  This thought/voice communication was driving him nuts.  

     He turned and greeted the specter who'd come to visit him.  "Hello again, Father."  

     "Hello, my son," Anakin Skywalker replied.  

     "I took your advice, sort of."  He hadn't been able to see his friends directly, but at least he'd sent them messages or talked to them.  

     "I noticed.  Are you glad you did, or am I just full of hot air?"  

     "Both."  At this his father burst out laughing.  

     "You're more correct than you realize, Luke.  Your sunsets will be more beautiful than you ever imagined."  

     "Really?"  

     "Yes.  Believe me, I know.  I never thought I'd see a sunset more beautiful than the one I first shared with Amidala.  That's when I married her, you know.  But the first one I saw with you changed all that.  And every one since then has been more precious than the last."  

     Luke was distracted from replying by a ship entering the atmosphere.  He recognized it instantly.  The _Jade's Fire_.  He and his father were silent, watching as the ship landed.  Mara strode down the ramp and into the Temple.  

     After a few moments, Luke sensed Streen heading reluctantly to the roof.  As he got nearer, Anakin murmured, "Be right back, Luke," and poofed out of sight.  

     Streen stopped before the roof entrance.  "Master?" he said quietly.  

     "Come on up, Streen."  He waited until Streen was a few steps away before asking, "What does she want?"  

     "She demands to speak with you, Master Skywalker."  

     Luke thought for a moment, then replied, "Tell her I'll be down in a few minutes, Streen."  

     "Yes, Master Luke," he said, slightly relieved.  

     "Streen," Luke called.  His student turned back.  Luke tossed him the Holocron and said, "Please give this to Tionne.  But tell her not to open it until after my death."  

     A confused look passed over his face, then realization dawned in his eyes.  A wave of depression washed over him as he realized Luke was still going through with his suicide plan.  He nodded and left.  Anakin appeared again almost the instant he was gone, but only for a moment.  "Remember, my son, I will be with you."  

     "Thank you, Father," he whispered.  He glanced over the side.  Streen was done talking to Mara now and was heading back into the Temple.  He looked up at the skyline.  The sunset was perfect.  Now was the time.  

     He stood on the small wall, looked toward the ground.  Mara was looking up at him, expectantly.  Through the Force he said, *_This one's for you, Captain Jade_*.  She crossed her arms and settled in to watch the show.  He took a deep breath, closed his eyes, and jumped.  

     He fell, fell, fell to the ground.  In the back of his mind he could feel Mara's amazement turn to anxiety, then shock, and finally dread as he hit the ground with a Bam! that shook his whole body.  He'd managed to land facing up so he could see the sky.  

     He could sense his students nearby, the young, newer ones that had come to watch.  Then, he saw Mara float into his rapidly dwindling sight.  She took his head into her lap.  She tried to say something, but all she could do was cry.  He offered the message cube to her.  As she took it, he whispered, "I loved you, Mara."  With that he closed his perfect blue eyes on the world forever.  

     "Luke, I love you," she finally said.  "Please don't leave me!"  She was too late.  He was already dead.  As his body began to fade, she realized exactly how hopeless her situation was and she whispered, "No."  As he disappeared completely, she said it over and over, louder and louder.  She began crying uncontrollably as she realized she had driven him to this, to kill himself.  Her dream was coming true, right before her eyes.  

**********

Coruscant

     For unknown reasons that she refused to give her advisors or even her husband, the Chief-of-State had called off of work.  Today, she was just Leia, Jedi-in-training and soon-to-be sole remaining member of the Skywalker family.  In honor of her brother, she'd legally dropped the Organa from her name and replaced it with "Skywalker."  It had caused a huge ruckus with the Alderaan delegation, of course, but her decision had been made.  Besides, they would understand soon enough.  

     She and Han had spent a quiet day together with the children.  Han was in the kitchen making lunch when Leia's chrono alarm beeped, startling them all.  She was watching the children build a huge city made of blocks when it went off.  Annoyed, she swatted at the thing.  

     Han, mistaking it for the comm unit, called, "Who is it this time?"  

     "No, Han.  It's my chrono alarm," Leia replied, suddenly full of despair and grief.  She'd set it for five minutes prior to the predicted time of sundown on Yavin's fourth moon.  Or, five minutes before her brother's death.  

     Her husband entered the room wearing his apron and drying his hands.  "What'd you set your alarm for?"  

     "You'll see," he replied.  He shrugged and reentered the kitchen.  "Kids, come here for a minute."  They calmly walked to her side.  She pulled a silver and gold ring off the little finger of her right hand.  "Have I ever shown you this ring, guys?"  

     They dutifully shook their heads.  "Well, see," she began, "Your Uncle Luke gave me this ring just after we moved to Coruscant.  See this dove?"  She pointed to a tiny figure on the left side of the ring.  "Now, a dove is a symbol of peace in many cultures.  Your uncle always said that this represented me.  And see the dragon?"  She pointed to the other side.  "A dragon, in ancient times, was a symbol for guardians, protectors.  And Luke said that this dragon always stood for the guardians of the Old Republic, the Jedi Knights.  So it stands for him.  Wasn't that a wonderful gift?"  All three of them nodded agreement, then inexplicably burst out crying.  

     She gathered them in her arms and comforted them.  The Force waves of grief hit her, their only mission to toll the death of a Master.  The children had a kindred bond with their uncle still in place.  It was why his death affected them so much.  

     Han ran out of the kitchen in shock.  He nearly yelled, "What?  What happened?  Some kind of Jedi thing?"  

     "Yes, Han," Leia answered emotionlessly.  

     "Do you want me to call Luke about it?"  

     "He's dead, Han."  

**********

     Kyp Durron was busy in his office, packing his files and personal belongings.  He was moving into Luke's old headquarters at the end of the day.  

     He finished up the last of his crates and sat back in his chair.  By this time tomorrow, this office would be Farlan's, and he would be in the office on his left.  

     He took a glance at the bare walls, filled with memories despite the lack of decoration.  He'd worked from this office for three years.  As Zeth Fost, Vice-President of the New Republic Intelligence, Kyp Durron had done a load of good for the government.  As Jocef Ortonn, Luke had turned the NRI away from chaos and back towards organization.  Luke's Presidency, though short, had been the most effective leadership in the Republic.  

     Publicly, Kyp and Luke were informal acquaintances.  Kyp was Luke's most powerful student and one of his most successful.  But underneath the surface, Zeth and Jocef were the best of friends.  Their alter egos allowed the two Jedi Masters to release their dark emotions and have a little freedom.  

     Kyp grabbed a datapad and switched it on.  He glanced at the time.  He had about five minutes.  He programmed his datapad to show the security holocam of the President's quarters.  Leia was showing her children a ring Luke had given her.  He brought up a sub-menu and opened a tracer program.  He called up Luke's transmitter signal and split the screen in half.  He watched Leia for a few moments more, then he flicked his gray eyes over to the other half of the screen.  The signal's strength was decreasing and warning messages were flashing across the screen.  

     Kyp closed his eyes.  In a second, he felt the waves of pain and grief associated with Luke's death.  He sought control and peace.  When he was calm, he open his eyes and watched Leia again.  She was handling it quite well.  

     She was consoling her children and explaining to Han what had happened.  She was very calm, very controlled.  Understandable, since she'd had a week to adjust to the loss of her brother.  

     He sat back and ran his hands through his dark brown hair.  What a mess this was.  He made a note to himself to visit Tionne on Yavin 4.  She'd be the student taking it the worst, and she needed his sunny disposition the most.  Besides, he wanted to know how Luke had finalized his will.  

**********

     Han stared at his wife.  "What?"  

     "He's dead.  That's what the children are feeling."  

     Han Solo sank, weak-kneed, into a chair.  "Are you sure?"  

     "Yes, Han.  I'm certain."  

     Threepio was blissfully silent, for once.  

     Han lowered his head in his hands.  Leia could see his shoulders shaking.  Luke was, after all, his best friend and brother-in-law.  Then his head snapped up, and he looked her in the eye.  "How did it happen?  Can you tell?"  

     "He jumped off the Great Temple.  He killed himself, Han."  

     He stared at her, his mouth hanging open.  "You knew?"  

     "Do you think Luke would kill himself without telling his sister first," she replied quietly.  The children were calming down now, the twins eager to hear this exchange.  Anakin meandered over to his father and sat in Han's lap.  

     Han absentmindedly put his arms around his youngest son.  He said, "Why didn't you tell me, Leia?"  

     "Luke made the decision.  If he'd wanted to tell you beforehand, he would have.  Besides, he knew that you would have tried to save him.  But he believed this was his only choice.  His life would have been miserable had he lived."  The twins climbed out of her lap and sat on the floor.  

     Han mumbled, "Why'd he do it?"  

     "Mara."  The single word quieted him instantly.  The family was silent the rest of the day, mourning the loss of their beloved Jedi.  

END OF PART ONE

GO FORWARD TO PART TWO

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'"  [TP13]  Countdown: Today at sunset


	2. Part 2, Bastard Jedi

     Author's note & Disclaimer:  Go read the first part of this trilogy, "Doomed Love," if you haven't already. None of these characters is mine, yada yada yada.  I'm getting no money for this, so don't sell it.  If you haven't read "Doomed Love" go read it now.  Don't scroll down unless you have, for the summary/introduction gives away almost everything.  This is rated R.  

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     Thanks for reading "Bastard Jedi."  In part one, Luke and Mara had a fling that led to dire consequences. Luke proposed marriage, Mara refused; Luke killed himself a month later.  Mara reconsidered, and arrived at the academy too late to save Luke from suicide.  Our story begins on Yavin IV, two weeks later. 

     Mara lay on the bed of her borrowed room.  The ceiling of the Great Temple was gray.  She was sleeping in the pilot's wing, unused for four years.  She and Corran Horn had been the only students to ever use this part of the building.  He was below her in his old room, the one Biggs Darklighter, Jek Porkins, and Wedge Antilles had shared before the Battle of Yavin.  She was in Luke's old pilot quarters. 

     All of Luke's students, past and present, had come to the Academy.  On Kyp's steady support, Tionne had blossomed into a competent administrator and a strong leader.  Kam Solusar and a few others had moved back to Yavin permanently. Kirana Ti and Teneniel Djo had brought along a good portion of the Singing Mountain Clan from Dathomir.  Luke's family had come from Coruscant, and his friends had come from all over the galaxy to mourn his death.  

      And all of them had studiously avoided her.  

     She couldn't blame them, of course.  It was because of her idiotic independence that Luke was dead.  Because of her, the galaxy had lost its greatest hero (although he'd been taken down quite a few notches after his suicide). 

     Mara rolled over on her side and faced the opposite wall. She'd been crying herself to sleep at night, and during the day she was tired and weary.  There was a knock at her door. Confused, Mara sat up.  "Come," she replied.  She smoothed her hair away from her face and stared at Luke's sister.  

     Leia stared back in silence.  Finally, she said, "We're ready to listen to Luke's will.  I thought you'd like to know."  She turned and Mara called to her.  

     "Leia, I loved him.  I was coming here to tell him that, to apologize and accept his proposal."  Leia stared at her, then nodded and left.  

     Once she was safe behind her own door, she sank to the floor and wept.  Her brother had died for nothing.  One day. If Mara had been one day earlier or Luke had waited one more day, everything would have turned out all right.  But that was "if," and this was now.  

     Quickly, she composed herself and walked to the Main Throne Room.  

**********

     "This is the Last Will and Testament of Luke Skywalker. By this recording I verify that I am of sound mind."  There was a pause.  "Sound mind?  Yeah right!  I'm committing suicide, here. I'm loonier than a Kowakian lizard monkey! I don't have a sound mind." 

     The sound of her brother's voice, light-hearted and cheerful, made Leia laugh.  Chuckles spread around the room. Luke cleared his throat, and the Jedi students fell silent. 

     "All of my financial holdings are to be divided equally between my niece and nephews, with a little emphasis on Anakin," he whispered conspirationally.  "Most of my personal property is up for grabs, although I would like Artoo-Detoo to be given to the academy.  Streen and Tionne will decide how best to use him.  My X-wing I'd like to have kept here as well, if it's possible.  They work well together and the academy could use the extra firepower.  My lightsaber is to be held aside for Anakin until he's ready for it.  The rest of my personal effects are to be handled by Leia.  

     "If it is discovered, and proven beyond a reasonable doubt in my sister's mind, that I have left behind any number of children, my finances are to be divided in half.  One half is to be divided into thirds and distributed among Leia's children as previously stated, and the other half goes to my own.  Kyp will be in charge of these monetary matters, and he will answer any questions you should have.  

     "The rest of this recording is a series of private messages.  The first one is for Leia.  I'll pause here." The screen froze and Leia switched off the recording.  She stood and addressed the assembly. 

     "Everyone here has come to mourn not only the galaxy's most famous Jedi Master, but a great man as well.  Luke was a friend to everyone ever met, even to his enemies.  But his life was plagued with sadness. 

     "Ever since our father died, Luke has lived alone.  He's endured pain and suffering and hasn't had anyone to turn to. Finally frustrated with solitude, he took his own life." Here she paused, forcing back the tears that threatened to flow.  Hindsight was perfect vision, as the saying went.  

     "However, even in death he was thinking of others.  He has left behind a Holocron, a record of all his knowledge for his students to access.  He didn't leave his students unprotected, either.  He was caring and concerned to the last.  He will be sorely missed."  She left the auditorium, and the crowd of mourners filed out of the chamber.  

**********

     Luke's closest friends and family held a private gathering in his quarters.  Leia and Han had already listened to their files, so she forwarded it and turned the message cube over to Kyp.  He entered Luke's office and locked the door.  Leia and Han quietly walked around Luke's apartment, mentally choosing what they wanted to keep for themselves. 

     Mara sat stiffly in a wing-backed chair, ill at ease with her surroundings.  This peaceful, comfortable home might have been hers.  If only she hadn't been stupid.  How could she have valued her independence over the adoration and love of an exceptionally good man?  She couldn't stop blaming herself. She knew she must, to go on living, but she couldn't.  She just-

     She paused mid-thought.  Maybe she didn't have to go on living.  Maybe if she took her own life, as Luke had, she could earn forgiveness in death.  The more she thought about it, the more it made sense and seemed like a good idea.  Then she dismissed it from her mind.  Dying was not the answer.  

     In the corner of her eye, Leia handed something to Tionne and pointed towards her.  Tionne approached her with a small box.  Without a word, she gave it to Mara.  Mara examined it, opened it. 

     Her ring.  It was the engagement ring Luke had presented to her.  A single stone of jade, with three onyx stones on each side and encircled by twenty-five diamonds, it was exquisite and priceless.  She hadn't really seen it before, when Luke had offered it to her, but now she knew how valuable it was.  

     Kyp approached her with the message cube.  She took it and went to Luke's office.  As she closed the door, she glanced around. Very stately, very elegant.  Luke's personal study had been a place of business and peaceful meditation.  She sat in his chair and played the message.  

     "Mara.  My darling, sweet Mara.  I just want you to know how much I love you.  You made me complete, Mara.  My life is nothing without you.  And I'm tired of waiting for love.  So, I decided to end the glob race.  I realize that this is a drastic solution, but it was my only choice.  

     "If you ever require anything, money, a good word, just go to Leia.  She's been instructed to give you whatever you ask for, within limits, of course.  I may be a farmboy, but I'm not stupid.  May the Force be with you, my love, though I will not."  His face disappeared and "Tionne" flashed in the air.  She paused it.  

     This room was peaceful and quiet.  Why couldn't she hide out in here?  She stood and left the office.  On her way to her room, she tossed the cube to Tionne.  

     In her quarters, she packed her belongings and locked the door. She needed to be alone, and knew the perfect place to go.  

**********

Dagobah, four days later

     Mara set her ship down expertly among the swamp near Yoda's home. She'd gotten the exact coordinates from Artoo before leaving Yavin. This had been the spot of most solid ground years ago, and that was apparently still the case.  

     She hiked a fair distance in the forest and finally came upon the remains of Yoda's home.  She used what was left of his home and built a decent shelter around it.  

     Mara spent her next few days exploring her general surroundings. This planet was a great training ground.  Mara could see where Luke became the Jedi Knight needed to save the galaxy.  

     At first, she wondered why Luke hadn't brought his students here. Then, a discovery on the first day of the new week clarified her puzzlement.  Three weeks after Luke's death, she found the cave.  

     Luke had told her about it, long ago when she had done her Jedi training. The cave was infested with the dark side, creating visions of possible pasts and futures.  Wary but curious, Mara entered.  

     **_Out of the darkness, a child ran for her.  A young, tow-headed boy with blond hair and stunningly adorable blue eyes, he screamed, "Mommy!" and wrapped his arms around her leg.  She was about to pull him off when he let go and ran into another room.  He shouted, "Daddy, Mommy's home!"  The boy came back and dragged her into the other room.  _

     **_Mara had barely a glance at the room around her before she was swept up into a strong pair of arms and spun in a dizzy circle.  "Mara, you're home!"  _

     **_Her captor put her down and kissed her passionately.  He stepped back, and she almost fell over.  Luke Skywalker was standing in front of her, healthy and happy.  She whispered, "Luke?"  _

     **_"Mara are you all right?  You look like you've seen a ghost."  _

     **_"No, I'm fine," she stammered.  _

     _**"That's good.  Now come on, sit down."  He led her into a cozy dining room, and sat at the table.  "Tell me all about your trading run."  He stared at her attentively, blue eyes sparkling with love and fascination.  _

     **_She cleared her throat and settled back, but before she could speak, the room disappeared around her, leaving only herself and Luke in the cave. _

     He was glowing faintly, the way most spirits would.  Mara looked at him with painful understanding.  "Do you see now?"  His voice echoed off the walls of the cave.  "I only wanted a simple life with you, Mara.  I didn't want to tie you down in chains or reign in your fiery spirit.  I only wanted to love you, to spend the rest of my life loving you.  But you didn't want that."  

     "I did, at the end," she interrupted in her defense.  

     "Too little, too late," he retorted.  Taken back by his bitter tone, she was silent.  He spoke again.  "I wanted to show you what out life could have been like, together.  That's why I sent you this vision."  

     "You wanted to hurt me a little bit for all the pain I've caused you."  

     He looked stunned and was about to deny it, then he admitted, "Yes I did.  I killed myself because of you, Mara.  I felt you needed to feel some of the pain you caused me.  You have no idea how hard it was, leaving my sister and her family.  I love them very much."  

     "And they love you.  Did you ever think of how hard it would be for Leia to keep on going after you killed yourself?"  

     "Yes, I did, but that's beside the point.  The point is merely to show you what you could have had, and what you lost through your own stupidity." With that, he vanished.  

     She sank to the floor of the cave and cried.  How could she go on with her worthless life now?  

**********

Coruscant, one week later

     Mara landed the *Jade's Fire* on Pad 92 and requested a meeting with President Skywalker-Solo.  She shut everything down and opened her cargo bay as she waited for Leia.  

     The chief of State granted her request, and stood on the edge of the landing platform, patiently waiting.  Mara descended the ramp and approached her, hands spread-eagle at her sides.  "Hello, Leia," she said.  

     "Hello, Mara," she replied coolly.  "What do you want?"  

     "Here."  She handed Leia a data card.  "Read this when you get back to your quarters."  She spun around and walked up the ramp.  Leia stared at the card, then at the ship.  

     Finally, she turned and started to walk away.  Both she and her bodyguards froze at the sound of a blaster shot.  "No," Leia whispered.  "Not again."  She turned and ran for the *Jade's Fire*.  

     They found Mara just inside the entryway, her favorite blaster clenched tightly in her right hand, a  smashed shotglass in her left.  She was lying in a pool of whiskey that had spilled out of the bottle, her eyes open.  Leia bent down and closed them.  At long last, her vision had been fulfilled.  

     She casually glanced over Mara's body, and noticed a small bulge in her midsection.  She pushed against it, curious.  

     Her brain went dead as something inside Mara's body pushed back.  She quickly gathered her Force sense around her, and probed Mara's womb.  When a tiny young presence returned her probe, she fell back.  Mara was having a baby!  One still alive, so it seemed.  

     "Guards!" she screamed.  They gathered around her.  "This woman's having a baby," she explained.  "Help me get her to the infirmary.  Khabarakh, lock up the ship and stand guard."  The Noghri guard bowed and obeyed.  

     Leia opened a comlink to Han and explained the situation.  He agreed to meet her in the medical wing.  She ran ahead of her guards, alerting the medical ward of their arrival.  

**********

     Kyp sprang into action as soon as Han shut off the comlink.  Mara dead?  And pregnant?!?  This put a whole new twist on things.  He contacted Cilghal, the Calamarian Jedi healer, and bolted for the medical wing.  He'd seen Luke do something once in a similar situation.  He only hoped he could replicate it.  

     When he got to the receptionist's desk, he didn't slow down.  Kyp knew where to go.  Han slowed, shouted, "Maternity?" and pointed off in Kyp's direction.  The droid nodded and waved them through.  

     Kyp ran past Mara's room.  Leia poked her head out of the doorway.  She and Han, who was coming around the corner, shouted, "Kyp!"  

     He switched gears instantly, smoothly spinning in the other direction.  He ran full-tilt down the hall.  

     He entered Mara's room and sprang into action.  He snatched a laser scalpel from a table.  He made an incision into Mara's womb, just as he had seen Luke do once, a long time ago on a mission.  A pair of spreaders flew to him through the air, levitated by the Force.  He applied them to Mara's stomach, pulling back the skin so his hand would fit inside.  He reached in, and gently lifted out the bundle, breaking the amniotic sac as he did so.  There were two umbilical cords leading to two babies, one male and one female.  He placed both infants in an incubator.  Calling upon the Force, he fed life into each twin.  

     He gently pushed on one baby's chest.  The tiny little boy let out a healthy, piercing scream.  The spectators let out sighs of relief.  Kyp moved away so the real doctors could work their magic.  

     Tionne came up behind him and gently touched his shoulder.  He turned.  She asked him, "Will they be all right, do you think?"  

     Cilghal, who had entered with Tionne, approached the baby girl.  Kyp answered, "They should be fine.  It'll be a few days before we can tell, though.  They spent quite a few minutes without oxygen."  

     "It's hard to believe.  Could they be Luke's?"  

     "Yes, I think they are," he replied.  

     "They are," Leia confirmed.  She was perusing Mara's datacard in the corner of the room.  "I can feel a tiny glimmer of Luke's presence.  It's coming from the boy."  

     "We'll have to name them both," said Han.  

     "We can do that later, " Kyp replied with a wave of his hand.  "Right now we need to make sure they survive thier first week of life."  

     "Right," Leia agreed.  "How are we going to care for them?" she whispered to Han.  

     "I am," Kyp answered for him.  "It's what Luke wanted."  He dug into a pocket and pulled out Luke's message cube.  He forwarded it to his message from Luke.  

     After a short pause, the Jedi's message began.  "This is going to be the hardest message to record.  For as long as I've known you, Kyp, you've been my best friend.  You've always been here for me, offering advice when I needed it, making me laugh when my life got too depressing.  

     "But now our time has passed.  And I have one last favor to ask of you.  Keep an eye on the New Republic, it's your duty now.  And if it should be discovered that I have any offspring, raise them as your own.  My children could find no better father than in you, Kyp.  

     "This is my final request, these my last wishes.  Please accept them, Kyp, if you can.  I will be with you in the Force, my friend.  Sho'lam'ba, ma'ticea."  

     "Kyp," Leia said after digesting this new twist, "are you sure you can handle this?"  

     "I can only do my best Leia," he replied.  "Luke is watching me.  If I blow this chance, he'll kick my butt in the Afterlife."  

     She smiled and patted him on the shoulder.  "If Luke is watching over you, you can't fail."  

     "Thank you," he replied, touched by her faith.  They left the hospital and headed towards the Presidential Suite.  

**********

     Mara opened her eyes and stared into the emergency room of a medical wing.  She watched, curiously, as the medical staff cleaned up her dead body and prepared it for incineration.  She looked down at the part of herself that was aware.  She felt all of life surrounding her, but she had no feeling in her "body."  

     She looked almost like a real-time holo.  There was a luminous outline around her, and she could see the floor of the hallway through her feet.  She jerked suddenly, and felt a strong pulling to her right.  

     She glanced up.  Luke was standing there, an inscrutable look on his face.  Behind him stood an older gentleman, distinguished-looking and kind.  He whispered something in Luke's ear.  Luke nodded, his eyes never leaving her.  

     Finally, he turned and said, "Come."  Mara could hear the anger in his voice.  There was something beneath it, too, an emotion she couldn't put her finger on.  Silently, she followed him and the old man to a room further down the hallway.  She stopped as first Luke, and then the other man walked through the wall next to a door labelled, "Maternity."  Mara shrugged her shoulders and followed them.  

     The old man, she noted as she entered the room, was calm and thoughtful, though his face beamed with joy.  Luke, she could tell, was eager and excited.  About what, Mara wasn't sure.  

     Luke seemed to have forgotten her completely in his excitement.  He whispered to the old man, "Which ones do you think they are?"  

     His reply made both of them smile.  "I should think the boy, at least, would be the one with 'Skywalker' on his incubator and 'I'm the son of a whiner' tattooed on his forehead.  And then your daughter would be the girl in the incubator next to him."  

     "Dad," Luke scolded, picking his way through the babies.  

     "Well, he is.  You're a whiner, and he's your son.  That makes him the son of a whiner."  

     "I'm not a whiner," he declared.  

     "No, not anymore.  Now you're just a dead Jedi.  But you were a whiner, and he's still your son, dead or alive.  That makes him…"  

     "Shut up, Dad!"  Luke shoved the old man over a meter and a half.  The old man chuckled to himself.  Luke shook his head ruefully and continued looking.  

     "Here they are," Mara said quietly.  She'd been walking through the ailes during their exchange and had found the babies they were looking for.  

     Luke was at her side in an instant.  "Well, Dad, here's your grandchildren," he said, leaning over the double-wide  incubator designed to hold twins together.  

     "Two of," Anakin corrected.  They all stared down at the tiny lifeforms, who had joined hands in their sleep.  Anakin watched the actions of his newest grandchildren with great pride and interest.  He was thankful that, in his duties as guardian spirit to his own two children, he had been in attendance for the births of all five of his grandkids.  

     Mara stared at the baby girl with shock and amazement.  She had reddish hair, and on her nameplate was the name "Skywalker."  

     The question burned inside her, but she was too afraid to speak it aloud.  Were these babies hers?  

     "Yes, they're our children," Luke replied quietly from her side.  

     "I didn't know."  She felt a marked change in him at her revelation.  She glanced up at his face.  

     "You didn't know you were pregnant?"  

     She resolutely shook her head.  "I"ve always been irregular, and missed months at a time," she explained.  She gazed at the incubator.  "What's going to happen to them?"  

     "Kyp will take care of them, raise them together.  I've been given guardianship of my son, so I'll always be with him," replied.  

     "Guardianship?" she questioned.  

     "Yes," he answered.  "Dad, you explain it."  He went back to staring at his twin children.  

     "When I died, it was decided that I deserved a better chance to redeem myself," Anakin explained.  "So I was given a crash course on how to be a guardian spirit, and then assigned to my son.  They could have really tested me and given me Leia, but they must have known Luke's darker side was so close to my own.  

     "Ever since the dawn of the Republic, and the first Jedi Knights, the spirits of the dead have chosen to watch over these curious wizards.  But all in all, the spirits have always watched over the Jedi.  As more Jedi became one with the Force, they in turn, became guardians.  So, when I died, I was placed by the side of my son.  Now that he is dead, I thought I would be able to spend some quality time with him, looking for his mother.  But it looks like I have to go back to work."  

     "What do you mean?"  

     "You don't really think I would leave my grandchildren unprotected in this galaxy, do you?" he asked her.  "I'm going to look after one of them.  Probably the girl, since I couldn't prevent my own son from turning to the dark side.  Luke is going to have to be better than I was when he looks after his son."  

     "Or Anakin," Luke commented.  

     "True," he agreed.  "Either your nephew or your son, but you should definitely look after one of them."  

     "What will happen to the other?" Mara asked.  

     "Jem has agreed to look after him, guide him," Luke replied.  

     "Who is Jem?" she asked.  

     "A former girlfriend of mine," Luke answered, "and your guardian."  

     "_My_ guardian?"  

     "Yes.  When she died, she had one request.  She wanted to ensure that I would have love in my life without her.  She asked to be allowed to watch over the one person whom I was destined to be with forever.  That, apparently, was you."  

     At this point, Mara desparately wished she could undo her terrible mistake.  She wished she could undo her terrible mistake.  She wished she could go back in time to that fateful night and accept his proposal.  Dimly, she was aware of Luke's arms circling her waist.  She heard his voice in her ear, "You really mean that?  'Cause we could still be bonded together.  It happens here."  

     She burst into sobs and turned in his arms.  After all she'd done to him, he still loved her.  He still wanted to spend the rest of his existence with her.  She embraced him and said softly, "Yes.  I'm so sorry Luke.  I never meant to hurt you.  I was just afraid of your love.  I never wanted any of this."  She  buried her head into his neck, wondering at his physical touch.  They were dead, yet they could feel each other.  It was a remarkable experience.  

     Luke held on to her as she sobbed, silently accepting her apology.  He could tell her regret was genuine, and that put some hope back into his heart.  Suddenly, the world around them blurred.  The colors shifted, became shades of gray, and the distinct outlines of familiar shapes faded away, leaving behind cloudy images.  

     Mara felt something akin to a cool breeze against her skin.  She glanced up and gasped.  "Where are we?"  She pulled away from Luke.  

     "Everywhere.  Nowhere," Anakin replied cryptically.  

     Luke swatted him on the arm and chastised him.  "Dad, don't confuse her."  

     "Why not?" he pouted, placing his hands on his hips.  Mara burst into peals of laughter at his immature behavior.  This seemed ten million light-years away from the Darth Vader she'd known as a young woman, a servant of the Emperor.  

     "It should," Anakin commented, reading her thoughts.  "That man died a long time ago.  There is nothing of him left anywhere now."  

     "Thank goodness, too, or we'd all be in trouble," Luke said, dodging a swing from his father.  

     "So," Mara began after a period of silence.  "If we get married, do I have to call you Father?"  

     "Well, you don't have to, but you're allowed to, yes."  

     "I'd stick with Anakin, Luke said in her ear.  "It's less confusing."  He ducked to avoid another swing.  "Cut it out, Dad!"  

     "No!"  Anakin swung again, this time successfully catching hold of Luke's head.  He dragged his son closer and ruffled his hair.  Luke's cry of lament was muffled by the fact that his face was being pushed into Anakin's ribcage.  

     Mara grinned and wandered away.  On one level, she was happy for Luke.  He was spending some quality time with his father.  On another level, she was saddened that it had to happen this way.  Why did he have to die to be happy?  

     After a short distance, she turned back.  She stiffened.  Luke and his father were gone.  

     She looked all around her.  There, just ahead, she could see a single shadowy figure.  She quickened her pace and headed in that direction.  

     Five strides later, she came upon a young woman standing patiently.  Mara had seen a picture of her once in Luke's office.  She had dark brown hair and athletic features.  She was rather plain, compared to other women in Luke's life:  Leia was possibly the most beautiful woman in the galaxy, Gaeriel Captison-Thanas had an exquisite air about her that was attractive, Callista had Cray Mingla's cultured looks and grace, and herself …  What was she, in Luke's eyes?  

     "You're the flame that starts the fire," he whispered passionately in her ear, wrapping his arms around her waist.  He kissed her neck softly, delighting in the moan that escaped from her lips.  She leaned back into him, the stranger in front of her temporarily forgotten.  

     Mara closed her eyes and let the minutes pass.  Luke's presence was all around her, flowing into her emotions like water into a stream.  

     The stranger cleared her throat, and Mara's private little bubble burst.  "You're Mara.  It's wonderful to finally meet you."  

     "You must be Jem."  She held out her hand in a friendly greeting.  

     Jem shook it, and smiled warmly.  "Sorry to interrupt, but it's time for orientation."  

     "I almost forgot about that," Anakin muttered.  

     "You did forget," Luke scolded.  "I've been dead for a month and still haven't been shown around."  He dodged yet another swing and trotted after Mara and Jem.  Anakin sighed and said, "Well, this is going to be an adventure," and walked after the trio, now arm in arm.  

**********

     Kyp woke with a start and the dream faded away.  Before it could dissolve into irretrievable memory, he grabbed a journal and recorded everything from it.  It would please Leia to know that her brother and father were both doing well and that Luke had found his love at last.  

     Kyp threw off the blankets and sat up on the couch.  He stared down at the two children in front of him.  The doctors had pronounced the twins fit to leave, and he had taken them home with him.  The adaoption proceedings had finished just two hours ago, leaving himself and Tionne caretakers of the Skywalker legacy.  

     Kyp laughed at that.  When Tionne found out he intended to raise the Skywalker twins on his own, she insisted on being named as a caretaker.  She demanded that he let her help him raise the children.  

     Tionne woke, whether from his laughter or something else, he couldn't tell.  She drew back the covers on Kyp's bed.  She stretched, yawned, and rose from the bed, tightening the sash on her robe.  "Is everything all right, Kyp?"  

     "Yes, everything's fine," he reassured her.  As she bent down to stroke the girl's tiny cheek, he continued.  "I just had an interesting dream about Luke and Mara."  

     "Oh."  She picked up the boy and nestled him on her shoulder.  "How did it turn out?"  

     "Fairly well."  He leaned over to pick up Luke's daughter.  "Luke and his dad were having fun, rough-housing around, and Luke and Mara were going to get married."  

     "That's good, I suppose."  

     "Something wrong?"  

     "No, I was just trying to think of a good name for her."  

     "Leia wants to pick out the names, don't forget."  

     "She'll probably suggest Luke for the boy and then pick something dumb for the girl."  

     "I don't know.  There are a lot of good girl's names to choose from."  

     "Oh yeah, like Jaina."  

     "Do you have anything better in mind?"  

     "I can think of lots of better names than Jaina.  Like Ami, or Allia, Alina."  

     "Okay, I get the picture."  Kyp let her have her dreams.  If he had his way, he'd make damn sure the kids weren't named after some famous Jedi or anyone else they'd have to live up to.  If he had his way, he'd covertly name them after their parents.  Such as Jade.  Jade was a nice name, for either boy or girl.  A little too obvious, but it fit with 'Skywalker' and that was the important thing.  

     He had plenty of objections to some superstar name.  He and Luke had both agreed that Leia never should have named her son after the man who became Darth Vader.  Anakin Solo had a dozen questions, with no answers to any of them.  Kyp had watched the boy grow full of doubt and shame of his namesake where there should have been pride.  

     Kyp wouldn't allow that to happen to Luke's child, and would shoot down the first person who tried to name the children after some hero figure with unattainable standards.  Besides, it was hard enough to live up to Luke Skywalker's legacy without tacking a name onto the problem as well.  

     He decided Jade would be a lovely name for the girl.  The boy should have a combination of his parents' names, some way to name him after Mara.  As he stared at the boy in Tionne's arms, the names appeared in the air, a handsbreath apart:  Mara, Luke.  The last 'a' vanished from Mara's name, the 'e' from Luke.  The remaining 'Mar' superimposed itself over the 'Lu,' resulting in "Mark."  Kyp ran over it in his mind.  Mark Skywalker.  It sounded good, it fit.  He made a note to call Leia in the morning.  

**********

     "Kyp, you don't understand," Leia said in her final attempt.  "I want to name this child after his father."  

     "I am naming him after Luke, Leia.  He's being named after both of his parents."  She started to contradict him, but he ran ahead.  "He already has Skywalker at the end of his name.  People the galaxy over fear and honor that name alone.  If you name him Luke, he's going to feel second best at everything because he won't be able to live up to Luke.  No one can.  Mark is derived from both parents, and it's a good, strong name.  Try them both once, just to see which one sounds better.  Luke Skywalker, junior.  Mark Skywalker."  Kyp revelled in the wince on Leia's face.  She didn't like the sound of "Junior" any more than he did.  Han, fortunately, came to his rescue.  

     "Leia, he's right.  Luke Skywalker, Jr. stinks.  I like Mark.  It's something different, and like Kyp says, it's still a strong name."  

     "You're right.  I just … I guess I just miss him so much I'm still looking for him in the shadows."  

     "Well, he's still hanging around.  We might not be able to talk to him, but he'll be with us," reassured Kyp.  

     Her eyes grew bright.  "What do you mean?"  

     He explained his dream to her.  Then he told her about the inspiration for 'Mark.'  

     He was about to conjecture when a brightly glowing figure stepped through the wall.  Kyp gasped and bolted out of his chair.  It was Luke!  

     Han asked him, "Kyp, what?  What is it?"  

     Leia, knowing the look in his eyes, searched the room for any sign of a specter.  

     Kyp swallowed and regained his composure.  "Hello.  I didn't think you could actually appear to us."  

     "I came to say helo to Leia.  And to insist that she give my children the names Mara and I have chosen."  

     "Subliminal messages, Luke?"  

     "Yes.  Mara, my father and I decided on the names of the children a long time ago."  

     "Why can I hear him but not see him?" Leia demanded.  

     Luke watched over to her.  "The rules have been set down.  You can either see me but not hear me, hear but not see, or have both, but only once.  I think it would be better for both of us to have it this way."  

     She thgouht it over for a minute, as Luke's ghostly image framed her face in his hands.  "Would you rather see me never change, never age, and not be able to talk to me?  Would you rather see and talk to me once and never again until your death?  This way, you can remember however you like, and hear my voice as well."  She nodded tears falling down her cheeks.  

     "Shh.  Don't cry.  The children will always be able to see and hear me.  I will be watching over Mark, guiding him through the Force.  Dad will be watching over Jade, and Mara and Jem will be watching over Anakin."  

     "Why Anakin?"  She asked, finding control.  

     "So that he doesn't follow my footsteps – or Father's."  

     She nodded with understanding.  "I wish I could see you."  

     "Close your eyes."  She obeyed his command.  "Now, picture me, in your mind.  Good.  Listen to the sound of my voice, let it tell you where I am in the room."  

     "You're in front of me."  

     "Yes, that's right.  Now what am I doing?"  

     The image of what he was doing was superimposed over the memory in her mind.  "Stop playing with my hair, Luke."  She smoothed her hair with a hand.  

     "See how easy it is?"  She could hear the grin in his voice.  The face in her mind was smiling.  

     "This is the way you want it, then?"  

     This is best for all of us, I think.  I should go now.  You must continue on with your lives.  I will always be here for you."  With an audible sigh and a slight breeze, he left.  

     Leia wiped away the tear on her cheek.  "I guess there's nothing else to say but good luck."  

     Kyp laid a gentle hand on her shoulder.  "The children will be well cared for.  Tionne and I will do fine."  

     "Don't worry, Kyp," Han said as he took his leave.  "You'll make a great father."  

     "I certainly hope so."  He saw them to the door and said good-bye.  The door slid shut as he turned away.  He made his way to the make-shift nursery he, Han and Chewie had set up.  He watched the Skywalker twins as they slept.  Mark was tossing and turning.  He let Mark wrap his hand around Kyp's pinky.  

     He smiled and sent soothing thoughts and warmth to the little boy.  A pair of slender arms slid around his waist.  Tionne rested her head on his bony shoulder.  

     "I didn't think they'd let us have those names," she commented.  

     "Well, Mark and Jade were what Luke wanted.  Leia wasn't about to argue with him, and Han's been giving us a lot of support."  He turned in her embrace and placed his arms around her shoulders.  "It was pretty much a done deal."  

     Tionne squeezed her arms tight and snuggle her head in the crook of his shoulder . She put her nose, which was always cold, in the warm spot under his chin.  "Are you sure we can do this, Kyp?"  

     "Yes."  He stared into her eyes, framing her face in his hands.  "As long as we stick together we'll be fine."  *_Her eyes are so soft.  They're a beautiful shade of pearl.*  "Just trust your heart and let the Force guide you."  He brought her chin up, and gently kissed her.  _

     Her kiss back was nothing of the sort.  

     She wrapped her arms around his neck and practically devoured his lips.  He crushed her against him and closed his eyes.  He reached out to her with the Force.  She recprocated, sending him into a whirlwind of emotion.  

     His tunic and shirt were off in five seconds.  He slowly undid the clasps of her blouse, for fear he would rip the delicate fabric.  She flung it into a corner, revealing that she wore nothing underneath.  She wrapped her arms around his shoulders and kissed him again, pressing her breasts to his chest.  

     It took all of his conscious energy to keep from falling over.  Realizing where this was headed, he sent her one word through the Force: *_Bedroom_*  He sensed her acceptance as she backed out of the nursery.  

     He lowered himself just a bit and grasped the back of her thighs.  Taking the cue, she hopped up and wrapped her legs around his waist.  He laced his fingers together under her butt and carried her to the bedroom.  

     As the door slid shut, he thought he heard a pair of giggling voices and a snickering laughter.  He ignored them and concentrating on keeping his mind from going insane with passion.  

     As he set her down on the bed, Tionne wriggled out of her skirt.  Kyp laid down next to her and grasped her hips.  He pulled her to him, kissing her fiercely on the lips.  She wound her arms around him and pressed her body to his.  

     His skin burned when it contacted her bare flesh, at her breasts, her  stomach, and where her hands were stroking him.  His manhood was straining against the fabric of his pants, aching to enter her sweet paradise.  

     He slid a hand down her back, across her tender buttocks and lower, between her thighs.  He pressed a finger gently against her bud.  She moaned against his lips and convulsed in a series of shivers.  He stroked her up and down, ever so gently.  She squirmed and writhed in exquisite passion.  She was trembling violently, and tried to get away from that engaging member, only to discover there was no where to go.  

     She began to cry, for want of relief from his explorations.  Between kisses she begged for satisfaction, pleaded for a release from the exquisite pain of his loving.  He finally did removing his hand, to her sighs of relief, only to hear them turn into gasps of passion as he flipped her over and entered her womanhood again, this time with his engorged and quivering phallus.  

     With one hand she clung to him, her nails digging into his shoulder as he throbbed and pulsed within her .  With the other she squeezed his buttcheeks, pushing him deeper and deeper into her.  

     The heat from the point of their joining seared him, burning his blood with an aching hunger for her.  Tionne arched her back severely, taking him in deeper and deeper with each thrust.  His climax came first, and she cried out as his seed spilled into her.  With both hands on his butt, she continued to thrust, pushing his phallus and his seed into her until she had reached her climax.  

     He cried out and begged her to stop.  When he finally believed he couldn't take anymore and he was going to die, she screamed and froze every muscle in her body.  Her grip on his penis became so tight he groaned with the torture of it.  

     After an eternity, their muscles unclenched and relaxed.  He kissed her gently and rolled over, so that she sprawled on top of him, joined only where his manhood was plunged into her.  

     He knew, as he stroked her back, that neither of them could move.  He knew, also, that there was no turning back.  They were joined forever, at a point so deep in their souls no one would ever be ablee to separate them.  He knew, without asking, what her answer would be if he suggested they marry.  He couldn't see himself with anyone else, and knew in his soul she felt the same.  

     Silent, he stroked her back, trying to form the words and group them together in a way that would appeal to her.  She startled him though, and spoke first.  "Yes, Kyp, I'll marry you."    He wrapped his arms around her and snuggled her close.  He had no energy for anything else.  

**********

     The marriage ceremony was held quietly a week later.  Tionne and Kyp exchanged simple vows in the presence of the Solos, their friends, and four guardian spirits.  

     Everyone present wished Kyp and Tionne happiness and the best of luck.  After the party had begun in earnest, Kyp talked with Han and Leia, while Tionne mingled with some of the witches from Dathomir that had made it to the occasion.  

     A woman pushed her husband toward the Solos.  When he began to back away, she said softly to him, "Honey, you missed your chance to know him.  Go to her, introduce yourself and tell her the truth."  

     "Tia, I can't."  

     "Ranik, you have to.  You owe it to them and to your father, may he rest in peace."  

     He sighed and walked towards Leia.  She watched him calmly as he approached, though Han and Kyp gasped.  

     Mara had first noticed him and told Luke, who went and warned Leia.  Kyp whispered to Han, "Am I seeing things or does he look just like Luke?"  

     Han replied, "I must be seeing things too, then."  

     Ranik had dark blond hair, a tall, thin frame, and Luke's crystal blue eyes.  He stopped in front of Leia and stuck out his hand.  "Hello.  I'm Ranik Vader."  

     The spirit of Anakin Skywalker gasped.  Luke stared at him with wide eyes.  Leia shook his hand and said, "Hi.  Leia Skywalker Solo."  

END OF PART TWO

GO FORWARD TO PART THREE


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